WALTON LAND AND TIMBER COMPANY, A CORPORATION, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR,
v.
LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE RAILROAD COMPANY, DEFENDANT IN ERROR
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The Florida Supreme Court reversed a judgment for the defendant railroad company, finding that the defendant's plea of res judicata was insufficient because it failed to allege a final judgment in the prior suit.
No, the plea of res judicata was insufficient because it did not aver a final judgment or other final disposition of the prior suit.
“As the plea does not aver a final judgment or other final disposition of the prior suit, the demurrer to the plea should have been sustained.”
Establishes the core reason for reversing the lower court's decision.
Walton Land and Timber Company sued Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company for damages related to an injured mule. The railroad company filed a plea …
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Wi-iiteield, J.
In an action against the railroad company to recover damages for the loss of a mule injured while being transported, among other pleas filed was one of res adjudicata in which it is averred that in a former suit between the same parties for the same cause of action, a demurrer to the evidence was joined in by the plaintiff, and the judge “did thereupon give his opinion and decide that the said demurrer was well taken and did sustain the same.” A demurrer to this plea of res adjudicata was overruled and final judgment was thereupon rendered for the defendant. The plaintiff took writ of error. As the plea does not aver a final judgment or other final disposition of the prior suit, the demurrer to the plea should have been sustained. See McKinnon v. Johnson, 57 Fla. 120, 48 South. Rep. 910.
The judgment is reversed.
Taylor, G. J., and Shackleford,' Cockrell and Ellis, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Tilton v. Horton, 103 Fla. 497 (Fla. 1931)…Section 456) : Also has held that where a plea of res judicata does not show a final disposition of a prior action between the same parties, for the same cause of action it is subject to demurrer. Walton Land & Timber Co. v. Louisville & N. R. Co., 69 Fla. 472, 68 So. 445. The final decree does not show a final disposition of the “merits” of Tilton’s counter-claim though it finally disposed of the complainant’s cause. The court had already stated that the cause was dismissed “without prejudice to defendan…
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City OF Miami Beach v. The Miami Beach Improvement Co., 153 Fla. 107 (Fla. 1943)…92; Keen v. Brown, 46 Fla. 487, 35 So. 401. A plea of res adjudicata that fails to aver a final judgment or other final disposition between the same parties for the same cause of action is bad. See Walton Land & Timber Co. v. Louisville & N. R. Co., 69 Fla. 472, 68 So. 445. A plea averring an adjudication between other parties is not a good plea in bar. We therefore conclude that the issues as made by the pleadings of the parties do not justify the introduction into evidence of the record of the two suits…
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Ruth v. United States Fid. & Guar. Co., 83 So. 2d 769 (Fla. 1955)…107, 14 So. 2d 172, 178, we held: “ * * * A plea of res adjudicata that fails to aver a final judgment or other final disposition between the same parties for the same cause of action is bad. See Walton Land & Timber Co. v. Louisville & N. R. Co., 69 Fla. 472, 68 So. 445.” We have often held that “the test of a final judgment is whether the judicial labor is at an end”, Slatcoff v. Dezen, Fla., 72 So. 2d 800, 801, and other cases cited therein. Considering the trial judge’s letter of January 27 in conn…
Authorities Cited
- McKinnon v. Johnson, 57 Fla. 120 (Fla. 1909)