Opinion ID: 783943
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Procedural Defenses

Text: 33 We have also reviewed defendants' procedural defenses of laches, res judicata, and collateral estoppel, and find them without merit.
34 We review rulings regarding laches for abuse of discretion. See Conopco, Inc. v. Campbell Soup Co., 95 F.3d 187, 193 (2d Cir.1996). 35 To prove laches, the defense must establish: (1) an unreasonable delay by the plaintiff in bringing suit; and (2) prejudice to the defendant. See Merrill Lynch Inv. Managers v. Optibase Ltd., 337 F.3d 125, 132 (2d Cir.2003). 36 Because the central issue of the contempt proceeding involved the continued improper motivation of obstetricians after 1996, we find no lack of diligence on the part of CNC physicians. Although we ultimately disagree with plaintiffs' substantive assertions, we affirm the holding of the district court that defendants' laches argument was meritless.
37 We review de novo a district court's decisions regarding res judicata. See Computer Assocs. Int'l, Inc. v. Altai, Inc., 126 F.3d 365, 368-69 (2d Cir.1997). 38 Res judicata precludes parties from litigating issues that were or could have been raised in a prior proceeding. Monahan v. N.Y. City Dep't of Corr., 214 F.3d 275, 284-85 (2d Cir.2000) (quoting Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 94, 101 S.Ct. 411, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980)). 39 In its motion for contempt, plaintiffs alleged continuing misconduct by defendants, allegations which, if substantiated, could have given rise to a new claim for damages. See Lawlor v. Nat'l Screen Serv. Corp., 349 U.S. 322, 327-28, 75 S.Ct. 865, 99 L.Ed. 1122 (1955) (noting that the same course of conduct ... may frequently give rise to more than a single cause of action). Therefore, res judicata is inapplicable. Even though the district court rejected two of plaintiffs' contentions and we are reversing as to the third, we affirm the district court's dismissal of the res judicata defense.
40 Collateral estoppel prevents the litigation of a legal or factual issue already decided in an earlier proceeding. See Boguslavsky v. Kaplan, 159 F.3d 715, 719-20 (2d Cir.1998). 41 Ordinarily, we review de novo a district court's decision regarding collateral estoppel. See Chartier v. Marlin Mgmt., LLC, 202 F.3d 89, 93 (2d Cir.2000). Although defendants raise collateral estoppel for the first time on appeal, they are correct that the claim arose only after the district court delivered its opinion. See Greene v. United States, 13 F.3d 577, 586 (2d Cir.1994) (stating that it is well-established... that an appellate court will not consider an issue raised for the first time on appeal, but that exceptions are made, for instance, to remedy an obvious injustice). Defendants allege that the district court's 2002 contempt order recasts its 1996 findings. Specifically, defendants claim that the district court changed its view of Dr. Silberman's role in the events giving rise to the 1996 contempt ruling against the Hospital and DOPS. We review this claim, but find the court's 2002 statements regarding Dr. Silberman to be entirely consistent with its earlier holding. For this reason, we conclude that the collateral estoppel defense is likewise without merit.