A Party May Not “Split” Its Cause of Action Into Multiple Suits

Beam v. Roller Derby Skate Corporation, [2007-1368](June 6, 2008)[NEWMAN, GAJARSA, WARD] NON-PRECEDENTIAL The Federal Circuit affirmed dismissal with prejudice of the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) on the grounds of res judicata and separately on the relevant statutes of limitations.
BRIEF: Dismissal pursuant to 12(b)(6) is a procedural question to which the Federal Circuit applies the law of the local circuit. Under the doctrine of res judicata, more specifically claim preclusion, a final judgment on the merits precludes the parties or their privies from relitigating claims that were or could have been raised in that action. For claim preclusion to attach, there must be an identity of parties or their privies, an earlier final judgment on the merits, and the new claim must be based on the same set of transactional facts as the first.
The Federal Circuit held that the record was abundantly clear that plaintiff’s present claims are based on substantially the same set of transactional facts as his earlier claims. The Federal Circuit further held that the new claim of patent infringement should have been brought in the 1998 action for breach of license, finding that a party may not “split” its cause of action into multiple suits,