Fowler v. Fowler

EDWARD N. SCRUGGS, Retired Circuit Judge.

This is the second appeal to this court of this detinue case.

With regard to the first appeal, the defendant’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint was granted by the trial court upon the ground of res judicata and, upon the plaintiff’s appeal, we concluded our opinion as follows:

“The essential elements of res judicata are: a prior judgment rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction; the prior judgment has been rendered on the merits; the parties to both suits are substantially identical; and the same cause of action is present in both suits.…