Mathews v. New York Racing Association, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
193 F. Supp. 293 (1961)
Joseph Mathews (plaintiff) had already sued NYRA employees over alleged libelous statements about his April 10, 1958 disorderly-conduct trial and alleged assault by NYRA's private investigators at Jamaica Race Track on April 4, 1958, losing on all claims. He then sued NYRA and its investigators (defendants) again over the same two incidents, this time alleging kidnapping, false arrest, and false imprisonment for the April 4 incident, and malicious prosecution for the April 10 disorderly-conduct case; the defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing the earlier judgment was res judicata.
Whether a plaintiff may escape claim preclusion under res judicata if he changes his legal theory in a subsequent action, but the operative facts of the subsequent claim are the same as in the original action.