RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

January 2006

To read this entire item of approximately 900 words online now in PDF format: Click here to read this item if you are an existing subscriber to this publication. Click here to purchase the full text of this item to read now (price: $25). To subscribe to this publication and immediately access all its archives including this item, select the relevant publication under 'Catalogue' in the left-hand column PLEASE NOTE: to read PDFs on www.argento.com you must be using Version 5 of Acrobat Reader or Adobe Reader. If you have an earlier version you can download the latest free of charge by clicking here

Ohio District Court Finds Broad Language in a State Court Judgment as Collateral Estoppel
Leatherworks Partnership, et al. v. Berk Realty Inc., et al., ___F.Supp.2d___

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio dismissed an action by plaintiffs on collateral estoppel grounds, holding: (1) the court would not relitigate matters already decided by a state court with continuing jurisdiction, and (2) a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) claim could not be brought. In finding the CERCLA action could not be brought the court reasoned: (1) plaintiffs could not maintain an contribution action without first being sued in an administrative or cost recovery action, (2) plaintiffs based federal jurisdiction on diversity of citizenship not on a federal question and, (3) all of the harm alleged that could support a CERCLA claim was already governed by the broad language of the state court’s judgment.