Gargiul v. Tompkins

In Migra v. Warren City School District Board of Education, 465 U.S. 75,104 S.Ct. 892, 79 L.Ed.2d 56 (1984), the Supreme Court held that in section 1983 suits federal courts, in determining the preclusive effect of earlier state court proceedings, must apply the same law of res judicata that the state courts would apply. Judge Newman’s opinion, while artfully crafted, reaches, in my view, an incorrect answer to the crucial Migra question: would the New York courts have given the decision in Gargiul I — a case in which a tenured teacher raised a statutory claim for continued pay during her…