Court Opinion

ID: 9490662
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:50:48.134816+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:54:14.319238
License: Public Domain

CONTIE, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
The district court dismissed Donald R. Birgel’s breach of contract action against the Butler County Board of Commissioners pursuant to the law of the ease doctrine. Because the law of the case doctrine necessitates the dismissal of this action, and because I am of the opinion that the majority does not directly reference whether it relies on the law of the case doctrine, res judicata, collateral estoppel, or some other jurisdictional doctrine derived from Stoner v. New York Life Insurance Co. and Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins to dismiss this action, I write separately.
The law of the case doctrine dictates that findings made at one point in the litigation become binding precedent to be followed in successive stages of the same litigation. Arizona v. California, 460 U.S. 605, 618, 103 S.Ct. 1382, 1391, 75 L.Ed.2d 318 (1983); United States v. Moored, 38 F.3d 1419, 1421 (6th Cir.1994). This doctrine protects against the relitigation of settled issues and preserves the finality of judgments. Though Birgel argues that the law of the case doctrine is inapplicable because he dismissed his state court action and filed a new action (i.e., not the “same litigation”) in federal court, the distinction is irrelevant. In fact, in United States v. Todd, 920 F.2d 399 (6th Cir.1990), this court held:
Under the doctrine of the law of the case, a decision on an issue made by a court at one stage of a ease should be given effect in successive stages of the same litigation. This doctrine applies with equal vigor to the decisions of a coordinate court in the same case and to a court’s own decisions. The purpose of this doctrine is twofold: (1) to prevent the continued litigation of settled issues; and (2) to assure compliance by inferior courts with the decisions of superior courts____
Finally, we note that the law-of-the-case doctrine can be applied to rulings made in a case that ends in a mistrial. Otherwise, a court would be required to rule de novo on every issue previously decided in a pri- or proceeding that ends in a mistrial. This *953would be inefficient, particularly when the previous trial had progressed considerably. In such a situation, the law-of-the-case doctrine would prove useful. A court may recognize and enforce prior rulings based on this doctrine, but also retains the power to reconsider previously decided issues as they arise in the context of a new trial.
Id. at 403-04 (citations and footnote omitted). Because the law of the case doctrine can be applied to rulings that are made in a case that ends in a mistrial, id., I see little reason to deny the applicability of the law of the case doctrine to this action where the determinative issue was decided by a state appellate court in an earlier action between the same parties prior to the voluntary dismissal of the state court action. See Moore’s Federal Practice § 134.22[3][e][iii] (3d ed. 1997) (“In some cases, giving law of the case effect to a state court’s determination of an issue will be especially appropriate because the state court determination will be the best evidence available of what the law of the state is. In such circumstances, a federal judge may properly give greater deference to the prior determination of an issue by the state court judge.”).
Once an issue has been decided, the law of the case doctrine permits issues to be reopened only where there is “substantially different evidence raised on subsequent trial; a subsequent contrary view of the law by the controlling authority; or a dearly erroneous decision which would work a manifest injustice.” United States v. Moored, 38 F.3d at 1421 (internal quotations and citations omitted). “This rule of practice promotes the finality and efficiency of the judicial process by ‘protecting against the agitation of settled issues.’ ” Christianson v. Colt Indus. Operating Corp., 486 U.S. 800, 816, 108 S.Ct. 2166, 2177, 100 L.Ed.2d 811 (1988).
In Ellison v. Empire General Life Ins. Co., 919 F.2d 140 (6th Cir.1990) (unpublished), this court expressly rejected the argument that the law of the case doctrine does not bind federal district courts sitting in diversity:
Basically, the plaintiff argues that the law of the case established in a state court should not bind a federal district court sitting in diversity. This proposition is erroneous. The Supreme Court has clearly stated its support for applying law of the case doctrine---- The doctrine applies where a competent court has decided a rule of law and that issue is raised in subsequent stages of the same ease, especially where the parties have had a full and fair opportunity to litigate. In general, the Court justifies application of law of the case doctrine because its application conserves judicial resources, saves adversaries from the expense and vexation of multiple lawsuits, and reduces the possibility of inconsistent opinions.
These reasons justify application of the doctrine of law of the case to the case at bar. The case has involved extensive discovery at the state court level, was heard, and then appealed to the state appellate court. Upon remand, the case was further litigated, until plaintiff voluntarily withdrew her case and filed the same action in the state court of another county.
While a reviewing federal court may reopen issues of law decided by a state court if the federal court is satisfied that the state court made a mistake in interpreting state law, we find no indication that the Ohio appellate court so erred in this case. Accordingly, we hold that the district court correctly accepted the findings of the Ohio appellate court and limited the issues at trial to those remanded by that court.
Id. (citations and footnote omitted).
In this diversity action, Birgel is bound (pursuant to the law of the case doctrine) by the state court’s substantive finding that he did not enter into an enforceable contract with the Board. As a practical matter, the dismissal of Birgel’s action conserves judicial resources, limits the expense of multiple lawsuits, and reduces the possibility of inconsistent results.
Because the district court properly dismissed Birgel’s breach of contract action pursuant to the law of the ease doctrine, I would affirm for that reason alone.