Murray v. Alaska Airlines, Inc.

Opinion

BAXTER, J.

The doctrine of collateral estoppel, or issue preclusion,1 is firmly embedded in both federal and California common law. It is grounded on the premise that “once ah issue has been resolved in a prior proceeding, there is no further factfinding function to be performed.” (Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore (1979) 439 U.S. 322, 336, fn. 23 [58 L.Ed.2d 552, 99 S.Ct. 645].) “Collateral estoppel . . . has the dual purpose of protecting litigants from the burden of relitigating an identical issue with the same party or his privy and of promoting judicial economy by preventing needless…