United States v. Moser

Moser (plaintiff), a Civil War-era Naval Academy cadet who later retired as a captain, won a Court of Claims judgment entitling him to the pay difference between a captain and a rear admiral under a statute giving retired Civil War-era naval officers the pay of the next higher rank. In a later, separate suit by a similarly situated plaintiff named Jasper, the Court of Claims considered a different statute it had overlooked in Moser's case and denied recovery; in three subsequent suits by Moser himself (including this one) seeking later salary installments under the same original ruling, the Court of Claims declined to follow the contrary Jasper decision, holding its original judgment for Moser conclusively settled the statute's application to him specifically.