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Moffat v. Branch5/18/2005
s of claim preclusion, concluding that Moffat was attempting to relitigate the same claim he had asserted in federal court, using different theories. Moffat appeals, contending that: (1) our opinion in Moffat I prevented the district court from ruling that claim preclusion barred his claims, and (2) the federal action did not bar his contract-related claims in state court.
DISCUSSION
Law of the Case
Moffat contends that, in Moffat I, this Court concluded that res judicata "did not apply to the other claims promissory estoppel, for example, that were raised in the mended omplaint" and that we effectively mandated that the district court consider the substantive bases of his claims. He argues that we explicitly determined that res judicata barred only a second claim for a charging lien, not his contract-related claims, and that the law of the case doctrine bars the district court from considering claim preclusion. See Van Orman v. Nelson, 80 N.M. 119, 120, 452 P.2d 188, 189 (1969) (stating that an appellate opinion establishes the law of the case upon remand).
Moffat misunderstands what we decided in Moffat I.In Moffat I, we concluded that his original complaint was "no more than an attempt to relitigate" the very same charging lien that had been rejected by the federal court. 2002-NMCA-067, 19. After ruling that Moffat had a procedural right to amend his complaint, we then explicitly declined to review the substantive bases of the amended complaint as to Branch and Branney because doing so "would usurp the function of the district court with respect to matters it did not address." Id. 29. The district court in Moffat I granted Vincoy's motion to dismiss the amended complaint and we affirmed that decision. Id. 2, 33. However, Branch and Branney had not yet filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. Id. 29. We remanded for the district court to pass upon the substance of the amended complaint as to Branch and Branney. Id. 29-30. Our role as an appellate court limits our review to those matters decided by the district court; therefore, we had no authority to decide whether Moffat's amended complaint should prevail or whether Branch and Branney had affirmative defenses, including claim preclusion. See Campos Enters., Inc. v. Edwin K. Williams & Co., 1998-NMCA-131, 12, 125 N.M. 691, 964 P.2d 855 (stating that this Court is a court of review and cannot review allegations not before the district court); see also Campos de Suenos, Ltd. v. County of Bernalillo, 2001-NMCA-043, 16, 130 N.M. 563, 28 P.3d 1104 (explaining that this Court typically reviews an affirmative defense only on appeal after a district court decides whether it was proved on the merits). It was for the district court to evaluate the merits of the amended complaint as well as Branch's and Branney's affirmative defense in the first instance.
Contrary to Moffat's assertions, we did not conclude that Moffat's contract-related claims were free and clear of any claim preclusion defense. Therefore, law of the case principles are inapplicable to Moffat's amended complaint and the district court was free to consider the viability of Moffat's amended complaint as well as any affirmative defenses raised by Branch and Branney.
Claim Preclusion
We review de novo a district court's application of claim preclusion. Anaya v. City of Albuquerque, 1996-NMCA-092, 5, 122 N.M. 326, 924 P.2d 735. Defendants have the burden of showing all the elements of claim preclusion. Id. The essence of the claim preclusion doctrine is that "litigants are encouraged and afforded a full and fair opportunity to raise issues that exist between them in a single action
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