Opinion ID: 1227802
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Same Claims or Causes of Action

Text: Julie next contends that her quiet title action does not involve the same claims or causes of action adjudicated in Kessel's tort claim. We disagree. The question of whether Julie's quiet title action is precluded by the state trial court's order turns on whether its claims arise out of the same nucleus of operative facts as the prior claim. Costner, 153 F.3d at 677 (internal quotations and citations omitted). The issue Julie wants to adjudicate in her quiet title action concerns her alleged ownership in the three condominium properties. That is the same issue adjudicated in the state trial court's order declaring null and void the transfers between Robert to Julie. Both suits would involve the validity of the unilateral conveyance Julie constructed in the midst of the personal injury lawsuit between Kessel and her brother. This is precisely the type of collateral attack upon a prior court's decision which the doctrine of res judicata bars.