Howell v. Vito's Trucking and Excavating Co.

We are asked to reconsider and clarify the doctrine of collateral estoppel by judgment, especially concerning the traditional requirement of mutuality.

Plaintiff’s decedent, Hattie Howell, died of injuries received in a motor vehicle collision with defendant’s truck. Other occupants of the Howell car, including a daughter Anna Sue Collins, were injured. Plaintiff brought the present wrongful death action in Oakland Circuit Court. Defendant’s answer denied negligence and asserted “sudden emergency” as an affirmative defense. Before the wrongful death suit reached trial, Anna Sue, a Tennessee…