Est. of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 898 S.W.2d 471 (Ark. 1995). · Go Syfert
Est. of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 898 S.W.2d 471 (Ark. 1995). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
66 citation events (46 in the last 25 years) across 7 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: James Smith v. Sammy Johnson (ca8, 2015-03-10)
Treatment trajectory · 1996 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1996 2011 2026
Under fire: who is questioning this case
Citations from separate opinions of courts that could overrule this case. This is a warning signal, not a treatment change. The flag color above is unaffected.
Dissent Desoto Gathering Co. v. Hill (2018)
“Like the federal courts, when analyzing Rule 13, we typically have interpreted "transaction or occurrence" liberally. 6 Charles Alan Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure Civil § 1410 (3d ed. 1998) ; See, e.g. , Cruthis , 352 Ark. at 297 -98 , 100 S.W.3d at 706-07 (debtors' claims for conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious-interference-with-contract claim held to be compulsory…”
Dissent Reynolds Metal Co. v. Circuit Court of Clark County (2013)
“See, e.g., In re Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471 (1995) (explaining the concept of res judicata and its two facets of issue preclusion and claim preclusion).”
Dissent Powell v. Lane (2008)
“As the majority points out, one required element of collateral estoppel is that the issue sought to be precluded must have been “actually litigated.” “The question of whether an issue has been previously litigated is interpreted very narrowly for purposes of collateral estoppel.” In re Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699, 705 , 898 S.W.2d 471, 473 (1995) (citing Smith v. Roane,…”
Top citers, strongest first. 11 distinct citers. How cited ↗
cited Cited as authority (rule) James Smith v. Sammy Johnson
8th Cir. · 2015 · confidence medium
Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co. (In re Estate of Goston), 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471, 473 (1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Powell v. Lane (2×)
Ark. · 2008 · confidence medium
As the majority points out, one required element of collateral estoppel is that the issue sought to be precluded must have been "actually litigated." "The question of whether an issue has been previously litigated is interpreted very narrowly for purposes of collateral estoppel." In re Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699, 705 , 898 S.W.2d 471, 473 (1995) (citing Smith v. Roane, 284 Ark. 568 , 683 S.W.2d 935 (1983)).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Letourneau v. Hickey
Vt. · 2002 · confidence medium
Realty Corp., 973 F.2d 155, 160 (2d Cir. 1992); Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 898 S.W.2d 471, 474 (Ark. 1995).
examined Cited as authority (rule) GREEN MACHINE CORP. v. Allen Engineering Corp. (5×) also: Cited "see"
E.D. Pa. · 2001 · confidence medium
Id. at 474.
discussed Cited "see" Beaver v. John Q. Hammons Hotels, L.P. (2×)
Ark. · 2003 · signal: see · confidence high
See Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471 (1995) (using Sections 18 and 27 of the Restatement to explain the differences between claim preclusion and issue preclusion); John Cheeseman Trucking, Inc. v. Pinson, supra (using Section 27 as the basis for our analysis of whether the issue of liability was precluded in a second lawsuit); Smith v. Roane, 284 Ark. 568 , 683 S.W.2d 935 (1985) (relying on language in Section 27, comment j, for analysis of issue preclusion).
discussed Cited "see" Beaver v. John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc. (2×)
Ark. Ct. App. · 2003 · signal: see · confidence high
See In re Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471 (1995); John Cheeseman Trucking, Inc. v. Pinson, 313 Ark. 632 , 855 S.W.2d 941 (1993); Smith v. Roane, 284 Ark. 568 , 683 S.W.2d 935 (1985).
discussed Cited "see" Clark v. Ridgeway (2×)
Ark. · 1996 · signal: see · confidence high
See In Matter of Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471 (1995).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." California State Teachers' Retirement System v. Alvarez (2×)
Del. · 2018 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence low
See, e.g. , Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co. , 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471 , 473 (1995).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." In re Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Delaware Derivative Litigation
Del. Ch. · 2016 · signal: see also · confidence medium
Co., 652 A.2d 30, 35 (Del. 1994); see also Taylor v. LSI Logic Corp., 689 A.2d 1196, 1200 (Del. 1997) (“It is not unusual for courts to wrestle with open questions of the law of sister states or foreign countries.”). 66 See, e.g., Dearman, 842 S.W.2d at 452 (citing Third Circuit, Colorado, New York, and New Jersey opinions in privity analysis). 67 See, e.g., Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 898 S.W.2d 471, 473 (Ark. 1995) (using definition of issue preclusion from Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 27 (1982)); Smith v. Roane, 683 S.W.2d 935, 936 (Ark. 1985) (following comment to Resta…
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Reynolds Metal Co. v. Circuit Court of Clark County (2×)
Ark. · 2013 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence low
See, e.g., In re Estate of Goston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471 (1995) (explaining the concept of res judicata and its two facets of issue preclusion and claim preclusion).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance v. Pettie (2×)
Ark. Ct. App. · 1996 · signal: see also · confidence low
See also Estate of Gaston v. Ford Motor Co., 320 Ark. 699 , 898 S.W.2d 471 (1995); Hubbard v. Shores Group, Inc., 313 Ark. 498 , 855 S.W.2d 924 (1993); Tittle v. City of Conway, 268 Ark. 1126 , 599 S.W.2d 412 (Ark.
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
In the MATTER of the ESTATE OF Venita J. GOSTON, Deceased, Et Al.
v.
FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Et Al.
94-1229.
Supreme Court of Arkansas.
Jun 5, 1995.
898 S.W.2d 471
1995 Ark. LEXIS 346
C. Marshall Friedman, P.L., by: C. Marshall Friedman and Kenneth E. Rudd and Law Offices of William T. Finnegan, by: William T Finnegan, for appellant., Matthews, Sanders, Liles & Sayes, by: Gail O. Matthews, for appellees.
Roaf, Brown.
Cited by 28 opinions  |  Published
Andree Layton Roaf, Justice.

This tort case presents the question of whether the Circuit Judge was correct in dismissing a claim on the basis of res judicata. We affirm the result reached by the trial court, but for the reason that the appellant’s claim was precluded by Ark. R. Civ. P. 13(a), which requires that a compulsory counterclaim be pled.

This case arises from an accident between two vehicles that occurred on February 12, 1988. Leo Goston, appellant, was heading north on John Barrow Road in Little Rock and was attempting to make a left turn onto a side street. Freddie Craig, appellee, was heading south on Barrow road and collided with Goston’s car as it was in the process of making the turn.

The Goston car burst into flames and Leo Goston’s wife Venita, a passenger, was severely burned and subsequently died. Leo Goston also claimed injuries as did Freddie Craig. There were two lawsuits between Goston and Craig based on this accident and this appeal is only from the latter of the two, in which Goston sued Craig.

On December 19, 1988, Freddie Craig filed a personal injury action against Leo Goston. Craig alleged that the accident occurred as the result of negligence on the part of Goston. Goston did not file an answer within the required time, but filed an untimely motion to dismiss. On the basis of that untimely response Craig moved for a default judgment. A default judgment was granted in favor of Craig on February 15, 1989.

Goston made unsuccessful attempts to get the judgment set aside and appealed the judgment. This case was affirmed in Goston v. Craig, 34 Ark.App. 23, 805 S.W.2d 92 (1991), on March 6, 1991.

In February 1991, Goston filed suit against Craig, Ford Motor Company, and Walt Bennett Ford based on the same accident. Goston asserted his individual cause of action, a wrongful death for Venita Goston, and derivative claims of the statutory beneficiaries of Venita Goston. Both Ford and Walt Bennett filed cross claims against Craig; Walt Bennett filed a cross claim against Ford.

Craig answered and moved for summary judgment on the basis of res judicata by reason of the default judgment Craig had obtained against Goston in the first suit. The trial court granted Craig’s motion on that basis in an amended order entered December 19, 1991. Goston filed a notice of appeal from that order.

Goston’s initial appeal of the order of December 19, 1991 was dismissed by this court on the basis of Ark. R. Civ. P. 54(b).

In March, 1993, Goston filed an amended complaint, including along with the originally named defendants, three additional defendants. He later obtained dismissal by non-suit of all claims and cross-claims except his individual claim against Craig, non-suiting the last defendant on August 12, 1994. He again filed his notice of appeal of the December 19, 1991 order granting summary judgment to Craig.

The appeal before us now is from the December 19, 1991 order which granted summary judgment to Craig on the basis of res judicata. While we do not agree with the basis on which the trial court granted the motion for summary judgment, this court will affirm the trial court where it has reached the right conclusion for the wrong reasons. Summers Chevrolet, Inc. v. Yell County, 310 Ark 1, 832 S.W.2d 486 (1992). We therefore affirm on the basis that Rule 13(a) precludes the appellant from pursuing his claim against Craig.

Goston raises three points on appeal: (1) that the trial court erred in granting the motion for summary judgment based on the doctrine of res judicata, (2) that the compulsory counterclaim provisions of Ark. R. Civ. P. 13(a) do not bar his claim against Craig for his personal injuries and (3) that summary judgment was entered in error because Craig waived or should be estopped from asserting that Goston was required to have litigated the issues of Craig’s negligence in the previous action filed by Craig.

Goston first argues that the doctrine of res judicata or “claim preclusion” does not operate to permit the default judgment obtained by Craig to bar Goston from asserting his separate cause of action against Craig, even though both claims arose from the same accident. Craig responds to the argument by asserting that it is collateral estoppel or “issue preclusion,” that actually bars Goston’s claim.

This court has addressed the distinction between claim and issue preclusion on a number of occasions. The difference between the two concepts is stated in John Cheeseman Trucking Inc. v. Pinson, 313 Ark. 632, 855 S.W.2d 941 (1993):

The concept of res judicata has two facets. One being issue preclusion and the other being claim preclusion. Issues in connection with this appeal are governed by the issue preclusion facet of the concept of res judicata. Claim preclusion forecloses further litigation on a cause of action. Bailey v. Harris Brake Fire Protection Dist., 287 Ark. 268, 697 S.W.2d 916 (1985). Issue preclusion precludes further litigation in connection with a certain issue. Issue preclusion is limited to those matters previously at issue, which were directly and necessarily adjudicated. Smith v. Roane, 284 Ark. 568, 683 S.W.2d 935 (1985).

This court has elaborated on that distinction in Bailey v. Harris, supra:

[C]laim preclusion bars not only the relitigation of issues which were actually litigated in the first suit, but also those which could have been litigated but were not. Wells v. Ark.Pub.Serv.Comm’n, supra; and Lovell v. Mixon, 719 F.2d 1373 (8th Cir. 1983). In contrast, issue preclusion, or the collateral estoppel aspect of res judicata, is limited to those matters previously at issue which were directly and necessarily adjudicated. Smith v. Roane, 284 Ark. 568, 683 S.W.2d 935 (1983).

The Restatement (Second) of Judgments’ (1982) definition of claim preclusion is found at §18 and it provides:

When a valid and final personal judgment is rendered in favor of the plaintiff:
(1) The plaintiff cannot thereafter maintain an action on the original claim or any part thereof, although he may be able to maintain an action upon the judgment; and
(2) In an action upon the judgment, the defendant cannot avail himself of defenses he might have interposed, or did interpose, in the first action.

The definition of issue preclusion is found at § 27 of the Restatement:

When an issue of fact or law is actually litigated and determined by a valid and final judgment and the determination is essential to the judgment, the determination is conclusive in a subsequent action between the parties, whether on the same or a different claim.

This case clearly does not present a situation for the application of claim preclusion. We do not have a case of the plaintiff, in this case Craig, attempting to relitigate the same claim or any other claim which he could have raised in his cause of action arising from this accident.

However, the question of whether the matter is one of issue preclusion must also be resolved. Issue preclusion, or collateral estoppel, is usually applied to all issues other than a plaintiff’s claim in determining the effect of a judgment in precluding relitigation of an issue. The question of whether an issue was previously litigated is interpreted very narrowly for purposes of collateral estoppel. See Smith v. Roane, 284 Ark. 568, 683 S.W.2d 935 (1983).

Although the issue of Goston’s negligence as the cause of Craig’s injuries was decided by the entry of the default judgment, this is not the same issue as whether Craig’s negligence was the proximate cause of Goston’s injuries. The finding that Gos-ton was negligent does not equate to a finding that Craig was free of negligence in the same accident. The issue of Craig’s negligence was not actually litigated, nor was determination of his negligence essential to the default judgment rendered in favor of Craig. Craig’s default judgment is thus not conclusive in this subsequent action by Goston, and the trial court’s order on the basis of res judicata was incorrect.

We therefore conclude that neither the doctrine of res judicata nor collateral estoppel would preclude Goston from bringing his claim against Craig.

However, Ark. R. Civ. P. 13(a) does clearly present a bar to Goston’s claim. This rule provides:

(a) Compulsory Counterclaims. A pleading shall state as a counterclaim any claim which, at the time of filing the pleading, the pleader has against any opposing party, if it arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the opposing party’s claim and does not require for its adjudication the presence of third parties of whom the court cannot acquire jurisdiction, (emphasis added).

We stated in Bankston v. McKensie, 288 Ark. 65, 702 S.W.2d 14 (1986) that the reason for this rule is to require parties to present all existing claims simultaneously to the court or be forever barred, thus preventing a multiplicity of suits arising from one set of circumstances. There is no question but that Goston’s present claim arose out of the same “transaction or occurrence” as did Craig’s, and that Goston would be required to plead his counterclaim in Craig’s case or waive it, under Rule 13(a). See e.g. Wasp Oil v. Arkansas Oil & Gas, 280 Ark. 420, 658 S.W.2d 397 (1983).

Goston argues that we should not apply Rule 13(a) to default judgments. Although this court has not previously addressed this issue, Rule 13(a) is virtually identical to its federal counterpart and we can look to federal sources for guidance on this question.

Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 1417 (1990), discusses Rule 13(a):

However, if notions of estoppel or waiver are used to preclude defendant from asserting his claim in a later suit, should they apply when the first action has resulted in a consent or a default judgment? The Advisory Committee Note to Rule 13(a) only states that an independent suit is barred if the earlier action has “proceeded to a judgment,” without indicating what kind of judgment is contemplated, which has the effect of leaving the question unanswered. Typically, courts have given default judgments full effect and have held that a counterclaim omitted from an action that terminates in a default judgment will be barred from any subsequent suits. However, if the parties resolve their dispute by means of a consent judgment, defendant may reserve the right to bring a later action on his counterclaim and no bar will result, (emphasis added).

Here, Goston’s failure to present his counterclaim in the original action filed by Craig is the proper basis for the trial court’s ruling that Goston is barred from now raising this claim.

Appellant Goston also argues that Craig should be estopped from asserting that Goston was required to have litigated his claim in the prior action filed by Craig, and cites to Clark v. Yosemite Community College Dist., 785 F.2d 781 (9th Cir. 1986), for the proposition that “a party who successfully blocks litigation of a cause of action in one proceeding may not hide behind the defense of res judicata in the second proceeding.”

However, appellant makes this argument for the first time on appeal. Failure to make an objection below and get a ruling on it will waive the argument on appeal. Thomas v. Cornell, 316 Ark. 366, 872 S.W.2d 370 (1994); Shelter Mut. Ins. Co. v. Page, 316 Ark. 623, 873 S.W.2d 534 (1994). We therefore do not consider the merits of the argument.

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Brown, J., concurs.