Pavon v. Swift Transportation Co., Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
192 F.3d 902 (1999)
After Swift Transportation (defendant) discharged Fernando Pavon (plaintiff), Pavon first sued in state court for back pay, which the parties settled and the state court dismissed; Pavon then sued Swift in federal court alleging racially discriminatory discharge, and Swift argued this claim was precluded because Pavon could have raised it in the earlier state action. The district court denied Swift's summary judgment motion on preclusion grounds, and the jury found for Pavon; Swift appealed, renewing its claim-preclusion argument among other challenges.
Whether a plaintiff's federal discrimination claim, arising from the same discharge as an earlier settled state-court back-pay claim, is barred by claim preclusion because it could have been raised in the earlier action.