Old Republic National Title Insurance Co. v. Hartford Fire Insurance Co.

NEWBY, Justice.

*501The doctrine of judicial estoppel preserves the integrity of judicial proceedings by preventing a party from taking inconsistent positions before the court, thus safeguarding the rule of law and seeming public confidence in the court system. Here the trial court found that, in a prior related case, defense counsel assured a federal court that defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company (defendant or Hartford) would not collaterally attack the federal judgment post hoc by relitigating its related claims arising from the same facts. Defendant declined to join that federal…