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Moffat v. Branch5/18/2005
4, 445 (7th Cir. 1972) (discussing that the title of the case may not reflect the true dispute where a settlement has been accepted in the original action and the dispute relates to attorney fees).
Moffat also contends that the case of Bennett v. Kisluk, 112 N.M. 221, 224, 814 P.2d 89, 92 (1991), instructs that an attorney seeking fees cannot be an adversary of his former client for the purposes of claim preclusion. This reading overextends Bennett. In Bennett, our Supreme Court held that, while an attorney's complaint for fees might trigger a compulsory counterclaim by the attorney's client for malpractice, a motion by the attorney would not. Id. Thus, the ruling on the attorney's motion for fees did not result in claim preclusion in the client's subsequent lawsuit claiming malpractice. Id. Here, the roles are reversed because Moffat is the party seeking recovery. We think implicit in Bennett is the notion of fair notice: that a non-movant would not necessarily know that he or she would have to assert all defenses or claims against a party who has filed a motion. Here, Moffat asserted a lien in federal court and was in an adversarial posture with Branch and Branney before a court of competent jurisdiction. By virtue of his role as the party actively seeking recovery, we think he was on notice that he was required to either pursue all of his theories or seek an express reservation of rights from the court. Thus, we are satisfied that it is both fair and reasonable to treat Moffat and Branch and Branney as parties to the federal action. Therefore the "same party" element of claim preclusion is met.
Same Claim
We now consider whether Moffat's charging lien claim in the federal action and his amended complaint in state court are the "same claim." Federal law and New Mexico law both look to Restatement § 24 to evaluate what constitutes the same claim for purposes of claim preclusion. Ford, 119 N.M. at 413, 891 P.2d at 554. Over twenty years ago, our Supreme Court applied the Restatement's transactional approach to this analysis. Three Rivers Land Co. v. Maddoux, 98 N.M. 690, 695, 652 P.2d 240, 245 (1982), overruled on other grounds by Universal Life Church v. Coxon, 105 N.M. 57, 728 P.2d 467 (1986); see generally Restatement § 24 cmt. a at 198 (explaining that a claim is evaluated in factual terms, regardless of the legal theories raised or relief sought, and that under modern procedural rules, this approach "reflects the expectation that parties who are given the capacity to present their entire controversies shall in fact do so" (internal quotation marks omitted)). This approach disregards the specific legal theories or claims that were or were not invoked in a prior action, and instead directs courts to engage in a pragmatic assessment of the transaction, with a "transaction" being described as "a natural grouping or common nucleus of operative facts." Anaya, 1996-NMCA-092, 8 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). "Underlying the test is the need to balance the interests of efendants and of the courts in bringing litigation to a close and the interest of [a p]laintiff in the vindication of his claims." Id.
In making a determination of whether a prior action involves the same transaction, we perform a three-step analysis: (1) we assess "the relatedness of the facts in time, space, origin, or motivation;" (2) we determine whether the facts, taken together, "form a convenient unit for trial purposes;" and (3) we consider "whether the treatment of the facts as a single unit conforms to the parties' expectations or business understanding or usage." Id. 12. If a lawsuit involves the same transaction as a prior claim, and the other claim preclusion elements a
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