Opinion ID: 1817595
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Claims against Cole.

Text: Due to the prior federal court judgment, the district court granted Cole summary judgment based upon the doctrines of claim and issue preclusion.
We find Cole cannot assert claim preclusion to bar Penn's claims. As previously stated, claim preclusion applies to parties or their privies. Cole was never served with the federal complaint, and did not participate in the federal litigation. She cannot now claim she was a party to that prior litigation. See Gulf Island-IV, Inc. v. Blue Streak-Gulf IS OPS, 24 F.3d 743, 746-47 (5th Cir.1994); Coppotelli v. Insurance Co. of N. Am., 631 F.2d 146, 149-50 (2d Cir.1980). Cole is also not in privity with the University: she has no direct affiliation with the University and has not acquired an interest in the subject matter affected by the judgment through or under the University, as by inheritance, succession or purchase. See Brown, 558 N.W.2d at 163. A common interest in a prior judgment alone is not sufficient to establish privity. The district court erred in finding claim preclusion barred Penn's claims against Cole.
Unlike claim preclusion, issue preclusion does not require mutuality of parties if it is being invoked defensively against a party so connected to the former action as to be bound by that resolution. Brown, 558 N.W.2d at 163. Defensive use means: [A] stranger to the judgment [in the former action], ordinarily the defendant in the second action, relies upon [that] judgment as conclusively establishing in his favor an issue which he must prove as an element of his defense. Id. at 164 (quoting Hunter v. City of Des Moines, 300 N.W.2d 121, 123 (Iowa 1981)). In this case, Cole is attempting to use the federal case defensively to prove the statute of limitations has run on all causes of action and the facts do not support a malicious prosecution claim. Therefore, mutuality is not required; however, Cole must meet the other requirements for this doctrine to apply. Penn argues the prior federal court judgment does not bar a subsequent suit because the federal dismissal was based upon the statute of limitations and did not constitute an adjudication on the merits. He appears to be attacking the traditional prerequisite that the prior judgment or adjudication be valid and final. See Goolsby v. Derby, 189 N.W.2d 909, 913, 916 (Iowa 1971). We have previously held that a dismissal based upon the running of the statute of limitations is an adjudication for purposes of claim preclusion. State ex rel. Iowa Dep't of Human Servs. v. Mundie, 436 N.W.2d 60, 61 (Iowa 1989). Other courts are in accord. See Steve D. Thompson Trucking, Inc. v. Dorsey Trailers, Inc., 870 F.2d 1044, 1046 (5th Cir.1989); Myers v. Bull, 599 F.2d 863, 865 (8th Cir.1979); Nitz v. Nitz, 456 N.W.2d 450, 452 (Minn.Ct.App.1990). See generally 18 Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Edward H. Cooper, Federal Practice & Procedure § 4441, at 366-69 (1984 & Supp.1997) [hereinafter Wright]. We find a dismissal on statute of limitations grounds is a final and valid judgment for purposes of issue preclusion. Although dismissals on such grounds can create problems in the application of preclusion principles when the second action is brought in a different court or involves separate but closely related claims, see 18 Wright § 4441, at 366; Austin v. Super Valu Stores, Inc., 31 F.3d 615 (8th Cir.1994), we are not confronted with any complex choice of law issues in this case. The federal court clearly applied the Iowa two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions. See Penn, 999 F.2d at 307. Penn is bound by the federal court's final determination that the constitutional claims accrued on September 22, 1989. Penn's petition was not filed against Cole until November 16, 1992; therefore, his constitutional claims are barred by the statute of limitations. Although the federal court addressed the malicious prosecution claim on the merits, that court only considered that claim as it related to the University. The federal court did not determine whether there was a valid claim against Cole. Therefore, Cole cannot use issue preclusion to bar the malicious prosecution claim against her because that issue was never actually litigated, a fundamental requirement in the issue preclusion analysis. Similarly, the remaining state law claims were also not raised in federal court, and the federal court did not specifically address the statute of limitations for each of those claims. Therefore, issue preclusion does not apply to these claims. We find issue preclusion supports the granting of summary judgment on the constitutional claims, but not on the remaining state law claims.
Cole argues that even if we do not apply issue or claim preclusion, the statute of limitations on the state law claims has run. Cole also raised this claim before the district court in her motion for summary judgment. Although we disagree with the grant of summary judgment based on claim and issue preclusion, the motion may nonetheless be sustained on the alternative ground presented to the district court. See Regent Ins. Co., 564 N.W.2d at 848. Pursuant to Iowa Code section 614.1(2) (1991), the statute of limitations for these causes of actions is two years. As Cole points out, the November 1, 1992 petition alleges facts which occurred in 1989 and 1990. Penn argues the abuse of process and malicious prosecution claims accrued on December 12, 1990, the date of the dismissal of the judicial review petition. All of Cole's alleged action or conduct occurred in 1989; Penn did not allege any specific act by her after the May 24, 1989 hearing. Because Penn does not allege any conduct by Cole after May 1989 or any fact which would support that she was involved in any subsequent action taken by the University to support a conspiracy theory, the claims for slander, invasion of right of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional trauma are barred by the statute of limitations. Turning to the abuse of process claim, we note that the general rule is the statute of limitation commences from the termination of the acts which constitute the abuse complained of, and not from the completion of the action in which the process issued. J.A. Bock, Annotation, When Statute of Limitations Begins to Run Against Action for Abuse of Process, 1 A.L.R.3d 953, 954 (1965 & Supp.1997); see also Strutz v. McNagny, 558 N.E.2d 1103, 1106 (Ind.Ct. App.1990). Contrary to Penn's contentions, his claim for abuse of process commenced from the date Cole committed her last alleged act constituting abuse of process, not the date the petition for judicial review was dismissed. Cole filed her sexual harassment complaint on May 10, 1989 and she testified at the hearing on May 24, 1989. Penn did not file his petition until November 16, 1992. His abuse of process claim is barred. A malicious prosecution claim, however, does not accrue until the proceedings upon which the action is based are terminated in favor of the defendant. See Wolfe v. Murphy, 113 F.2d 775, 776-77 (8th Cir. 1940); Mills County State Bank v. Roure, 291 N.W.2d 1, 3-4 (Iowa 1980). Although the Board voluntarily dismissed the claim against Penn and expunged the records on November 14, 1990, the petition for judicial review challenging the Board's initial determination was not dismissed until December 12, 1990. Therefore, proceedings upon which the action is based was not terminated until December 12, 1990. Penn's malicious prosecution claim was timely filed. In summary, we affirm the summary judgment ruling on all of the claims against Cole, except the malicious prosecution claim. We do not address the merits of the malicious prosecution claim as that issue is not properly before us at this juncture.