Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Co. v. Iowa Homestead Co.
United States Supreme Court
123 U.S. 552 (1887)
Relevant factsFree
Homestead (plaintiff) previously sued the Railroad (defendant) over the same taxes, and that suit was litigated all the way to a final U.S. Supreme Court judgment for the Railroad, with Homestead never having objected to jurisdiction at any point; in the current suit for the same taxes, Homestead argued the earlier Supreme Court judgment should not bar this suit as res judicata because the federal court in that earlier case actually lacked jurisdiction, and the lower court agreed with Homestead.
IssueFree
Whether a court's judgment may be reversed on the grounds of jurisdiction if the judgment itself is no longer appealable.