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Johnson v. Si-Cor8/14/2001
During the time that Robert Johnson was going through bankruptcy , he broke a tooth biting into a McDonalds sandwich. After his bankruptcy case was closed, Mr. Johnson filed a lawsuit against Si-Cor Inc. of Wenatchee and Lopez Foods (collectively referred to as McDonalds). The superior court granted McDonalds' motion for summary judgment based on judicial estoppel. Judicial estoppel precludes a party from taking a position inconsistent with a position that the party previously took in litigation. The court reasoned that Mr. Johnson's failure to disclose his claim against McDonalds in his bankruptcy case precluded him from later asserting the claim against McDonalds. Mr. Johnson appeals.
We conclude that judicial estoppel applies only if a party's prior inconsistent position benefited the party or was adopted by the court. There is no evidence in this record that Mr. Johnson received a benefit by not disclosing his claim against McDonalds in his bankruptcy case. There is no evidence that the bankruptcy court adopted a position asserted by Mr. Johnson that is inconsistent with the pursuit of his claim against McDonalds. Accordingly, we reverse the summary judgment dismissal and remand for trial.
FACTS
On November 21, 1996, Robert and Sheila Johnson filed a petition for relief as Chapter 13 debtors with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington. On December 12, 1996, Mr. Johnson allegedly broke his tooth on a small stone contained in a McDonalds breakfast sandwich. On the same day, he sought dental treatment. During that and subsequent treatments, he freely discussed his intention to sue McDonalds.
Less than one month later, on January 16, 1997, Mr. Johnson attended the first meeting of creditors regarding his Chapter 13 bankruptcy . At that meeting, he was examined by the Chapter 13 trustee. At that meeting, Mr. Johnson did not inform either the Chapter 13 trustee or his creditors about his potential lawsuit against McDonalds. During the pendency of Mr. Johnson's Chapter 13 case, he did not amend his bankruptcy schedules in order to disclose his claim against McDonalds.
On August 25, 1997, the Johnsons' petition for relief under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code was converted to a petition for relief under Chapter 7. Upon conversion to Chapter 7, the Johnsons' bankruptcy schedules were amended, but only to add additional creditors. In the normal course, the Johnsons received a Chapter 7 discharge. On May 27, 1999, the Johnsons' bankruptcy proceeding was closed as a 'no asset' case.
Approximately six months later, Mr. Johnson filed suit against McDonalds. During discovery, McDonalds learned that Mr. Johnson's claim against McDonalds arose during the pendency of the Johnsons' bankruptcy case. After McDonalds determined that the claim had not been disclosed, McDonalds filed a motion for summary judgment claiming that Mr. Johnson was judicially estopped from bringing his claim for damages due to his failure to list his claim against McDonalds as an asset in his bankruptcy case. Mr. Johnson was not represented at the summary judgment hearing because his attorneys failed to note the date of the hearing. The court granted the motion for summary judgment.
Mr. Johnson moved to vacate the order under CR 60(b)(1) arguing excusable neglect. The court denied the motion to vacate. Mr. Johnson timely appealed both the order granting summary judgment and the order denying the motion to vacate.
ANALYSIS
Judicial estoppel precludes a party from gaining an advantage by taking one position and then seeking a second advantage by taking an incompatible position in a subsequent act
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