Opinion ID: 2184817
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Motion to dismiss and strike

Text: As an initial point, appellees Bill Linder and Mildred Sims move to dismiss the 1998 appeal in this case. This prior appeal consisted solely of a Notice of Appeal filed by Lea Ann on September 25, 1998, and was not pursued, as Lea Ann fled the jurisdiction some twenty days later. As a result, the appellees argue that the constitutionality of the GPVA and Bill's visitation have become law of the case or, alternatively, that the doctrine of res judicata applies. The appellees ask this court to dismiss the 1998 notice of appeal and to strike those portions of Lea Ann's brief which challenge the constitutionality of the GPVA and the trial court's visitation order. With respect to law of the case, we note that there was no previous opinion by an appellate court in this state. This court recently observed that the doctrine applied when there had been a previous appellate opinion in the case. See Cadillac Cowboy v. Jackson, 347 Ark. 963, 69 S.W.3d 383 (2002). In Cadillac Cowboy , we said: The venerable doctrine of law of the case prohibits a court from reconsidering issues of law and fact that have already been decided on appeal. The doctrine serves to effectuate efficiency and finality in the judicial process. Frazier v. Fortenberry, 5 Ark. 200 (1843); see also, 5 AM.JUR.2D Appellate Review § 605 (1995). We have said the following with regard to the law-of-the-case doctrine: The doctrine provides that a decision of an appellate court establishes the law of the case for the trial upon remand and for the appellate court itself upon subsequent review. Kemp v. State, 335 Ark. 139, 983 S.W.2d 383 (1998). On the second appeal, the decision of the first appeal becomes the law of the case, and is conclusive of every question of law or fact decided in the former appeal, and also of those which might have been, but were not, presented. Griffin v. First Nat'l Bank, 318 Ark. 848, 888 S.W.2d 306 (1994). Clemmons v. Office of Child Support Enforcement, 345 Ark. 330, 346, 47 S.W.3d 227, 237 (2001). Cadillac Cowboy v. Jackson, 347 Ark. at 970, 69 S.W.3d at 388. It is true that under our doctrine of law of the case, we do not address in a second appeal issues that could have been raised in the first appeal, but were not. Chambers v. Stern, 347 Ark. 395, 64 S.W.3d 737 (2002) (citing McDonald's Corp. v. Hawkins, 319 Ark. 1, 888 S.W.2d 649 (1994); Alexander v. Chapman, 299 Ark. 126, 771 S.W.2d 744 (1989)). As we said in Morris v. Garmon, 291 Ark. 67, 68-69, 722 S.W.2d 571, 573 (1987): On second appeal, as in this case, the decision on the first appeal becomes the law of the case, and is conclusive of every question of law or fact decided in the former appeal, and also of those which might have been, but were not, presented. However, it is equally clear from our cases that it is this court's opinion in a prior appeal which becomes law of the case, not the mere filing of a notice of appeal. See, e.g., Ghegan & Ghegan v. Barclay, 345 Ark. 514, 49 S.W.3d 652 (2001) ([T]he decision on the first appeal becomes the law of the case, and is conclusive of every question of law or fact decided in the former appeal.); Morris v. Garmon, supra ([T]he decision on the first appeal becomes the law of the case[.]) There was no decision in a previous appeal in the case before us. We conclude that a motion to dismiss this matter due to law of the case has no merit. With respect to res judicata, it is true that the doctrine bars the relitigation of claims that were actually litigated in the first suit as well as those that could have been litigated. Office of Child Support Enforcement v. Willis, 347 Ark. 6, 59 S.W.3d 438 (2001); Wells v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 272 Ark. 481, 616 S.W.2d 718 (1981). Thus, where a case is based on the same events as the subject matter of a previous lawsuit, res judicata will apply even if the subsequent lawsuit raises new legal issues and seeks additional remedies. Willis, supra ; Swofford v. Stafford, 295 Ark. 433, 748 S.W.2d 660 (1988). The policy of the doctrine is to prevent parties from relitigating issues or raising new issues when they have already been given a fair trial. Willis, supra ; McCormac v. McCormac, 304 Ark. 89, 799 S.W.2d 806 (1990). Custody matters, however, are different when the doctrine of res judicata is called into play. When the matter is a custody issue, our court takes a more flexible approach to res judicata. We recognize, for example, that custody orders are subject to modification in order to respond to changed circumstances and the best interest of the child. Moon v. Marquez, 338 Ark. 636, 999 S.W.2d 678 (1999); Thurston v. Pinkstaff, 292 Ark. 385, 730 S.W.2d 239 (1987). For example, in Tucker v. Turner, 195 Ark. 632, 636, 113 S.W.2d 508, 508 (1938), we said; The judgment of a chancery court in this state, awarding the custody of an infant child to one of the parents, or to any other person, is a final judgment, from which an appeal lies, but it is not res judicata in the same or another court of this state involving the custody of the same child, where it is shown that the conditions under which the former decree was made have changed and that the best interest of said child demand a reconsideration of said order or decree. In the case at hand, what has been involved since 1998 has been Bill Linder's petition for visitation and, since 1999, the custody of Brandon. Secondly, the constitutionality of the GPVA was not an issue in the litigation that preceded the September 2, 1998 order. Indeed, it was not raised until Mildred Sim's petition in 1999. Troxel v. Granville, supra , which has become the seminal case, was not handed down by the United States Supreme Court until 2000. Res judicata simply does not govern this situation. We deny the appellees' motion to dismiss and strike.