Court Opinion

ID: 9597495
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:59:21.523359+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:27:18.527604
License: Public Domain

*183Hall, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent from Division 1 on the application of the principles of res judicata. The court has impliedly (and correctly) rejected appellant’s argument that her state and federal theories of relief constitute different causes of action. Since Mrs. Pope is seeking to relitigate the same cause of action she is barred by Code Ann. § 110-501: "A judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction shall be conclusive between the same parties and their privies as to all matters put in issue, or which under the rules of law might have been put in issue in the cause wherein the judgment was rendered, until such judgment shall be reversed or set aside.” Division 1 of the court’s opinion can only be understood as an unprecedented exception to this general rule of claim preclusion.1
This decision is also contrary to existing case law. See e.g., Chilivis v. Dasher, 236 Ga. 669 (225 SE2d 32) (1976); Kartell v. Searcy, 32 Ga. 190 (1861). Our cases have consistently held that federal court judgments are entitled to the same preclusive effect as judgments of this state, yet Division 1 holds that in certain cases these judgments will be given less preclusive effect.2 While prior cases could be distinguished, no fair distinction can be drawn which would support the result in this case.
The reason for this new rule is a policy choice to encourage plaintiffs to present their state constitutional claims only to state courts. I agree that this is preferable, for a decision on state law by a state court is entitled to the binding effect of stare decisis, while a decision by a federal *184court on the same issue would be entitled only to the binding effect of res judicata, which binds only the parties and their privies.3 But I do not believe the rule in Division 1 will have the desired effect, and moreover I believe that even if it did the policies against the new rule predominate.
The rule in Division 1 applies only if there has been a prior federal suit in which the plaintiff failed to present a ground for relief under state law. What the rule says is that in such a case the state court will inquire as to whether the federal court would have abstained had the issue been presented. If the state court concludes that the federal court would have abstained, we will treat the case as if the court had in fact abstained. What does this accomplish?
Under general res judicata principles the plaintiff must present all grounds for relief or lose them. If he does not present them there is no decision; the plaintiff is simply barred from bringing a second suit. If he does present them, the federal court will abstain on issues which are suitable for abstention, the very same issues with which Division 1 is concerned. Once the federal court abstains, the plaintiff may litigate these issues in state court, for they are issues which could not be put in issue in the previous case. Code Ann. § 110-501. In other words, if we force plaintiffs to present all of their cases to the federal courts, we can accomplish the same result (so far as the policy of encouraging state court decisions on state law is concerned) as the rule in Division 1, without sacrificing the policies behind existing law.
One practical effect of this new rule is to save those cases, such as Mrs. Pope’s, where the plaintiff has simply neglected to present all grounds for relief to the federal forum.4 Insofar as the rule relieves plaintiffs from the mistakes of their lawyers it is directly contrary to the *185policy choice behind the res judicata principle. Mrs. Pope is no more deserving of this relief than any other plaintiff.
Of course, the rule goes further and encourages plaintiffs to withhold some of their grounds for relief from the federal court. We should not encourage this. If the claim is not presented we will have no decision by the federal court on whether it should refrain from hearing the issue. The question of whether the federal court should abstain is a question of federal court procedure and a discretionary decision by the federal judge. This issue is one of which should be left for the federal courts to, decide, for they are the experts on federal procedure.
The result of Division 1 is to require our state courts to answer a hypothetical question of federal court procedure: if the plaintiff had presented his entire case to federal court, would that court, in the exercise of its sound discretion, have refused to decide the issues now presented? This question is not an easy one, and at least one state court has refused to consider it. Martin v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 455 SW2d 429, 437 (Tex. 1970). Moreover, the issue is entirely foreign to the areas of competence of state court judges. Thus the majority has created a difficult collateral issue which requires our courts to become familiar with and apply rules of federal court procedure as a preliminary step in deciding whether to hear a case. This adds to the burden on our courts.
Claim preclusion is not only supported by the policy of reducing unnecessary litigation. The primary policy behind the principle is to promote justice by avoiding the unnecessary expense, delay and uncertainty caused defendants by repeated lawsuits on the same cause of action. Repeated suits can be used to unjustly harass defendants, and may deny justice altogether. Yet the court approves a procedure by which a plaintiff can bring *186two suits by choosing to start in federal court, and failing to present important state law issues to that forum. Even in cases where our courts will refuse to allow relitigation, the plaintiffs will be able to litigate the difficult question of whether the federal court would have abstained. This will provoke additional appeals.The procedural complexity created by this case will be a tool for harassing defendants, as well as a totally unnecessary burden on our courts.
We should require plaintiffs who choose a federal forum to present all their grounds for relief to that court. If issues are present which are arguably appropriate for abstention, the federal court can decide the question of whether it should abstain.5 This will dispose of the issue without burdening our courts. Difficult state constitutional claims will still be referred to state courts.
There is another reason for disagreeing with Division 1. The scope and effect of a federal judgment is a matter of federal law. State courts are required to give full faith and credit to judgments of federal courts, and this requires that we give federal judgments at least the same preclusive effect as we would give judgments of our own courts. 28 USC § 1738; Stoll v. Gottlieb, 305 U. S. 165, 167, 170 (1938); Embry v. Palmer, 107 U. S. 3 (1882); Degnan, Federalized Res Judicata, 85 Yale L. J. 741, 742-750 (1976). The rule announced in Division 1 gives federal court judgments less preclusive effect than state court judgments, for if this case had been decided in a state court res judicata would apply. This rule results in a denial of full faith and credit to the federal judgment.
Of course, if the federal courts would not give the full preclusive effect to their judgments, we would not have to. But the rule is well settled that pendent state law claims which are not presented in federal court are precluded. Southwest Airlines Co. v. Texas International Airlines, 546 F2d 84, 92 (5th Cir. 1977); Woods Exploration and Production Co. v. Aluminum Co. of America, 438 F2d *1871286, 1311-1316 (5th Cir. 1971). See United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U. S. 715, 723, 725, n. 12 (1966). The federal courts have been quite insistent on the issue of claim preclusion by former adjudication in federal court. See, e.g., Southwest Airlines Co. v. Texas International Airlines, supra; International Assn. of Machinists &c. v. Nix, 512 F2d 125 (5th Cir. 1975); Woods Exploration and Production Co. v. Aluminium Co. of America, supra. The rule in federal court is that a judgment for the defendant on a particular cause of action establishes his right to do what was done. Applied to this case, the rule means that the City of Atlanta has the right to restrain Mrs. Pope.
A decision in Mrs. Pope’s favor by the trial court on remand would effectively nullify the federal judgment, and thus deny it full faith and credit. The rule announced in Division 1 is contrary to the statutory requirement that we give federal judgments the same effect as state judgments, and amounts to a denial of full faith and credit even where the same party prevails in both suits.
Finally, it is worth noting that the few cases by state courts which are closely on point are contrary to this decision. In Belliston v. Texas, 521 P2d 379 (Utah 1974), the Utah Supreme Court held that a state suit on state antitrust grounds was barred by the former adjudication of federal antitrust claims in federal court, even though the state issues were not presented to the federal court, and the federal court would have had only pendent jurisdiction of these claims. Accord, Ford Motor Co. v. Superior Court, 35 Cal. App. 3d 676 (110 Cal. Rptr. 59) (1973) (cited with approval in Slater v. Blackwood, 15 Cal. 3d 791 (126 Cal. Rptr. 225) (1976)); McCann v. Whitney, 25 NYS2d 354 (1941). Moreover, other state courts have held that they are required to give federal judgments the same preclusive effect that they would have in federal court. Levy v. Cohen, 19 Cal. 3d 165 (137 Cal. Rptr. 162) (1977); London v. City of Philadelphia, 412 Pa. 496 (194 A2d 903) (1963); Shell Oil Co. v. Texas Gas Transmission Corp., 176 S2d 692, 696-697 (La. App. 1965). See also Transworld Airlines v. Hughes, 317. A2d 114, 119 (Del. Ch. 1974) (dicta).
I would affirm the trial court insofar as it found that *188the present suit is barred by res judicata, and vacate insofar as any other issue is reached.

 The possibility that a plaintiff will lose her pendent claims by failing to present them to federal court has been noted by the commentators. Degnan, Federalized Res Judicata, 85 Yale L. J. 741, 772 (1976); Annot., 5 ALR3d 1040, 1056 (1956); Note, Problems of Parallel State and Federal Remedies, 71 Harv. L. Rev. 513, 523-524 (1958).

 The court’s rule will give only collateral estoppel effect to federal court judgments when the test of Division 1 is met. Res judicata claim preclusion under Code Ann. § 110-501 is broader. See also, Restatement, Judgments, § 63.

 The federal decision would be merely persuasive authority in other cases.

 Mrs. Pope presented five federal and state law grounds for relief to the federal court. See Pope v. City of Atlanta, 418 FSupp. 665 (N.D. Ga. 1976). There is no *185indication of a choice to save the state constitutional issues for state court. Rather it appears that these issues were not even thought of until she lost in federal court.

 The federal court could also refer the issue to our courts for a decision, holding the federal action in abeyance.