AMEC Civil LLC v. Mitsubishi International Corp.

FARRELL, Associate Judge:

The issue before us, governed by Virginia law, is whether res judicata barred appellant’s action for attorney’s fees filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia after appellant had withdrawn the claim from underlying breach-of-contract litigation in Virginia, without obtaining either agreement by appellee or authorization by the court to defer the claim to later proceedings. We hold, with the trial judge, that appellant was precluded in these circumstances from pursuing its claim for attorney’s fees in a separate action.

I

AMEC Civil LLC (hereafter AMEC)…