Glenn R. Lambert, Stephen G. Lambert, Phillip R. Lambert, Thomas A. Lambert, Linda A. Hicks & Janet S. Ruddy D/B/A Lambert Farms Partnership v. The Iowa Department of Transportation

MANSFIELD, Justice.

I. Introduction.

This case presents a close, but narrow, question: When a court order dismissing an action reveals the court’s intent to preserve a claim arising out of the same transaction that is pending in another lawsuit, should the claim in the other lawsuit be allowed to proceed? We conclude that it should, even if the language of the dismissal order is less explicit than it might have been. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment entered in the second action in favor of the plaintiff, which judgment followed a denial of the defendant’s motion for summary judgment based on…