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

275 Or. 97, 550 P.2d 1185 (1976)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A fire started in a shed owned by D. It spread to other properties in the area. Eventually, over 50 separate actions for damages were filed against D to recover losses from a fire. Three of the actions proceeded separately through trial to final judgment; a judgment was awarded in favor of D, and the other two judgments went to the claimants. State Farm (P) stored some of its property in a warehouse just sixty feet from D’s shed, and the fire destroyed P’s property. P, and other parties, who was not a party to any of the previous actions, sought to utilize the prior claimants' judgments to establish D's negligence and its responsibility for any losses caused by the fire. Ps all filed amended complaints to match the cases in which D was found to be negligent. D, of course, asserted that it had a favorable ruling in one of the cases. The trial court held that D was collaterally estopped from any further contesting its liability.