Mangum v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance

BECTON, Judge.

Plaintiffs’ sole assignment of error relates to the granting of Nationwide’s motion for summary judgment. After careful examination of the present record on appeal and the record and opinion in the prior action, we affirm the award of summary judgment in Nationwide’s favor.

Plaintiffs first argue that the doctrine of res judicata does not bar their recovery for damages to the contents of their dwelling because there was no judgment on the merits in the previous action. The evidence before this Court is to the contrary.

Estoppel by judgment, or res judicata, has been defined as…