Opinion ID: 1969303
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Whether Previous Determination was Necessary to Resulting Judgment

Text: According to the district court, issue preclusion was also inapplicable because the fourth element of our Hunter test was not met. The district court held the prior determination of the paternity issue was unnecessary to the resulting judgment. Fellmer contends that in order for the court, in 1977, to evaluate and approve the fairness of the compromise between himself and Casas, it was necessary for it to evaluate the likelihood of establishing his paternity. The State contends the approval of a cash payment by Fellmer to Casas as part of the settlement agreement is inconsistent with the court's finding of no paternity. This inconsistency, the State argues, demonstrates that the court's finding was not necessary to its final judgment. Also the State contends the finding of no paternity is not supported in the original court record. We believe it is beyond dispute that the district court's 1977 finding on the issue of paternity constituted the essence of the court's decision to approve the parties' compromise. The court could not have determined the fairness of the parties' compromise and settlement without evaluating and making a determination on the paternity issue. Thus, we hold the fourth prerequisite element to applying issue preclusion was met.