Issue preclusion in Glover v. Cohen

From the CAFCL


Under this doctrine, a party cannot relitigate an issue that has already been litigated. See Peloro v. United States, 488 F.3d 163, 175 (3d Cir. 2007). That is the situation here. Glover litigated the same issue – patent infringement by the Breathe Right® dilator – in the Northern District of Ohio action and cannot relitigate that issue now. The Third Circuit generally applies plenary review to determinations of issue preclusion. See Jean Alexander Cosmetics, Inc. v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., 458 F.3d 244, 247-49 (3d Cir. 2006) (noting abuse of discretion review for nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel). In the Third Circuit, the prerequisites for applying issue preclusion are (1) the issue sought to be precluded [is] the same as that involved in the prior action; (2) that issue [was] actually litigated; (3) it [was] determined by a final and valid judgment; and (4) the determination [was] essential to the prior judgment. . . . For defensive collateral estoppel – a form of non-mutual issue preclusion – to apply, the party to be precluded must have had a “full and fair” opportunity to litigate the issue in the first action. Peloro, 488 F.3d at 174-75 (internal quotation marks omitted).