Opinion ID: 1806304
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Identity of the Parties

Text: ¶ 14. Res judicata applies only when the parties are substantially identical. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Berry, 669 So.2d 56, 72 (Miss.1996)(citing Cherry v. Anthony, Gibbs, Sage, 501 So.2d 416 (Miss. 1987)). The state urges us to apply the privity analysis adopted in the civil case of Little v. V. & G Welding Supply, Inc., 704 So.2d 1336 (Miss.1997). Little quotes the comment to Section 83 of the Restatement of Judgments as follows: Privity is a word which expresses the idea that as to certain matters and in certain circumstances persons who are not parties to an action but who are connected with it in their interests are affected by the judgment with reference to interests involved in the action, as if they were parties. The statement that a person is bound ... as a privy is a short method of stating that under the circumstances and for the purpose of the case at hand he is bound by ... all or some of the rules of res judicata by way of merger, bar or collateral estoppel. Little, 704 So.2d at 1339 (quoting RESTATEMENT OF JUDGMENTS § 83 cmt. (1942)). ¶ 15. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' finding that the plea agreements were inter-related is insufficient to justify claim preclusion in this cause. For the purpose of stating our jurisprudence regarding party identity, the fact that these pleas were inter-related has no rational bearing on the determination of whether the parties were in privity. In Little, we found Mid-South, the defendant in the state action, and V & G, the defendant in the federal action, were both privies to a common bulk distributor. The manufacturer sold to a bulk distributor who repackaged and sold to Mid-South who in turn sold to V & G. Little, 704 So.2d at 1339. ¶ 16. In the instant case, Pittman was charged with separate crimes, one a state crime and one a uniquely federal crime. The only common denominator was the defendant. The State of Mississippi was of course not involved in the federal prosecution of Pittman. It is apparent that the governmental interest in this case is being asserted by the State of Mississippi, as opposed to the federal government. While the state and federal governments cooperated in an attempt to secure Pittman's conviction, it is obvious the parties here were not identical. We find no privity here between the state and federal governments.