State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Century Home Components

A fire that started in a shed operated by Century Home Components (defendant) spread to a nearby warehouse owned by State Farm (plaintiff), and over fifty separate plaintiffs sued Century over the fire; of four cases that went to trial on essentially identical liability issues, three resulted in judgments against Century while one produced a jury verdict for Century (though a separate defense verdict was later overturned on appeal). State Farm, not a party to any prior case, sought to use the three unfavorable judgments to collaterally estop Century from relitigating liability in its own subsequent suit; the district court agreed, and Century appealed.