Haskell v. Wakefield & Associates, Inc.
Haskell v. Wakefield & Associates, Inc., 2024 UT App 123 (Tenney, J.)
Civil Procedure
Kourtni Haskell sued a debt collection agency, arguing that its collection practices violated various Utah statues, but the district court dismissed her case without prejudice. Haskell later sued the same collection agency, filing a complaint that was “virtually identical” to the complaint Haskell filed in the first suit. The district court held that issue preclusion applied, and Haskell appealed. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, holding:
- Although claim preclusion requires a dismissal with prejudice to satisfy its “final judgment on the merits” element, issue preclusion does not.