Res judicata is the legal principle that a claim cannot be retried between the same parties if it has already been resolved.

Res judicata is the legal principle that a claim cannot be retried between the same parties if it has already been resolved.

• A. Collateral estoppel
• B. Res judicata
• C. Negligence
• D. Laches

Answer: (B)

Res judicata means finality of claims: once a court has issued a final judgment on the merits of a claim between the same parties, that claim cannot be brought again in a new lawsuit. This doctrine rests on three ideas: a judgment on the merits is binding, the parties (or those in privity with them) are the same or sufficiently connected, and the second suit is over the same claim or cause of action (one that could have been raised in the first action). Because of these requirements, re-litigating the same dispute across separate suits is barred, which promotes final resolution and judicial efficiency. Collateral estoppel, by contrast, stops re-litigation of specific issues that were actually litigated and essential to a prior judgment, but it does not prevent relitigation of the entire claim itself. Negligence is a standard of care in tort law, not a preclusion rule. Laches is about undue delay in pursuing a claim leading to prejudice, which can bar relief for equitable reasons rather than a final judgment on the merits.

Res judicata means finality of claims: once a court has issued a final judgment on the merits of a claim between the same parties, that claim cannot be brought again in a new lawsuit. This doctrine rests on three ideas: a judgment on the merits is binding, the parties (or those in privity with them) are the same or sufficiently connected, and the second suit is over the same claim or cause of action (one that could have been raised in the first action). Because of these requirements, re-litigating the same dispute across separate suits is barred, which promotes final resolution and judicial efficiency.

Collateral estoppel, by contrast, stops re-litigation of specific issues that were actually litigated and essential to a prior judgment, but it does not prevent relitigation of the entire claim itself. Negligence is a standard of care in tort law, not a preclusion rule. Laches is about undue delay in pursuing a claim leading to prejudice, which can bar relief for equitable reasons rather than a final judgment on the merits.