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Hi all,

It is my understanding that both issue preclusion and claim preclusion require a "final judgment on the merits." Can someone please explain/give me an example of what that means.

Also, issue preclusion requires "actual litigation," can someone also explain what that means?

Thank you.

Final judgment on the merits means the case wasn't thrown out for venue or other procedural issues. Plaintiff needs to have had a chance to argue the substance of their case.

For issue preclusion, the issue needs to have been actually litigated, meaning both sides saw it as an important issue worth zealously contesting. If the issue was just tangential to the original case then issue preclusion won't apply.