Opinion ID: 544220
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exception to Issue Preclusion for Unmixed Questions of Law

Text: 16 Citing United States v. Stauffer Chemical Co., 464 U.S. 165, 104 S.Ct. 575, 78 L.Ed.2d 388 (1984), the APWU next contends that it comes within an exception to the doctrine of issue preclusion where different courts of appeals have different substantive rules. Specifically, the APWU argues that the Ninth Circuit's decision was based upon that court's concern for the possibility of conflicting arbitration awards, 893 F.2d at 1121 (citing Louisiana-Pacific Corp. v. International Board of Elec. Workers, 600 F.2d 219 (9th Cir.1979)), whereas in this circuit, the possibility of inconsistent awards is not a sufficient reason to deny two-party arbitration. See In re District No. 1--Pacific Coast District, Marine Engineers' Beneficial Ass'n, 723 F.2d 70, 78 (D.C.Cir.1983). We are by no means convinced, however, that the Ninth Circuit's holding turns upon the peculiarities of the Louisiana-Pacific case, in which that court held only that an employer that fails to seek judicial intervention before two arbitrators render conflicting awards is bound by both of them. 17 In USPS v. APWU, the Ninth Circuit listed three factors that a district court must consider in order to ensure that tripartite arbitration is a suitable remedy for the actual case before it, 893 F.2d at 1120, and found that all three factors favored ordering tripartite arbitration in the case before it. It then went on to observe that that remedy was also practicable, economical, convenient, and fair because: 18 It not only avoids duplication of effort, but also avoids the possibility of conflicting awards.... In [the Ninth] circuit, the possibility of conflicting awards is a serious threat because of our decision in Louisiana-Pacific.... Parties must request court intervention before receiving conflicting awards, otherwise the conflicting awards will stand.... 19 Id. at 1121. Far from one of the critical factors in the Ninth Circuit's analysis, the possibility of conflicting awards seems to have been more of an afterthought. That is hardly surprising, however, for as the court recognized, an employer can avoid that possibility merely by seeking judicial relief in a timely fashion. 20 In any event, the exception to issue preclusion for which the APWU contends is not applicable here, regardless of whether there is any difference in the substantive law of the two circuits. The exception noted in Stauffer applies only when the issue involves  'unmixed questions of law' arising in 'successive actions involving unrelated subject matter.'  464 U.S. at 171, 104 S.Ct. at 579 (quoting Montana v. United States, 440 U.S. 147, 162, 99 S.Ct. 970, 978, 59 L.Ed.2d 210 (1979)). The subsequent case must be so unrelated to the prior case that relitigation of the issue is warranted. Id. Thus, in Stauffer itself, the Court refused to apply the exception to allow relitigation with the same party [of] an issue arising in both cases from virtually identical facts. Id. at 172, 104 S.Ct. at 579. So, too, in this case, where the parties, the issue, and the relevant facts are identical to those before the Ninth Circuit. 21 At bottom, the APWU's assertion that the Ninth Circuit's decision rests upon a precedent that this circuit has not adopted is just another way of saying that the Ninth Circuit's decision is wrong. The doctrine of issue preclusion counsels us against reaching the merits in this case, however, regardless of whether we would reject or accept our sister circuit's position.