Blocker Farms of Florida, Inc. v. Buurma Properties, LLC , 654 F. App'x 402 ( 2016 )


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  •            Case: 14-14641   Date Filed: 06/13/2016     Page: 1 of 3
    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________
    No. 14-14641
    Non-Argument Calendar
    ________________________
    D.C. Docket No. 6:13-cv-00068-BAE-GRS
    BLOCKER FARMS OF FLORIDA, INC.,
    Plaintiff - Appellant,
    versus
    BUURMA PROPERTIES, LLC,
    Defendant - Appellee.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Southern District of Georgia
    ________________________
    (June 13, 2016)
    Before JORDAN, JULIE CARNES and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Case: 14-14641       Date Filed: 06/13/2016      Page: 2 of 3
    Blocker Farms of Florida, Inc. appeals the district court’s grant of Buurma
    Properties, LLC’s motion for summary judgment based on the affirmative defense
    of res judicata. Whether res judicata bars a claim is a question of law that we
    review de novo.1 Ragsdale v. Rubbermaid, Inc., 
    193 F.3d 1235
    , 1238 (11th Cir.
    1999). In Georgia, “[t]hree prerequisites must be satisfied before res judicata
    applies—(1) identity of the cause of action, (2) identity of the parties or their
    privies, and (3) previous adjudication on the merits by a court of competent
    jurisdiction.” Waldroup v. Greene Cty. Hosp. Auth., 
    463 S.E.2d 5
    , 7 (Ga. 1995);
    see also O.C.G.A. § 9-12-40. For the third prong of this test to be met, the
    judgment must be final. See O.C.G.A. § 9-12-40 (“A judgment of a court of
    competent jurisdiction shall be conclusive . . . until the judgment is reversed or set
    aside.”); Mitchell v. Mitchell, 
    25 S.E. 385
    , 386 (Ga. 1896) (“It is only a final
    judgment upon the merits which prevents further contest upon the same issue
    . . . .”).
    After the district court issued its order concluding that Blocker Farms’s
    claim was barred based on res judicata because the parties had previously litigated
    the issue in the Superior Court of Tattnell County, the Court of Appeals of Georgia
    vacated the superior court’s judgment and remanded the case to the superior court.
    1
    When giving a state-court judgment preclusive effect, we apply the res judicata law of
    the state whose court rendered the judgment. Kizzire v. Baptist Health Sys., Inc., 
    441 F.3d 1306
    ,
    1308 (11th Cir. 2006).
    2
    Case: 14-14641        Date Filed: 06/13/2016      Page: 3 of 3
    Thus, there has not been a previous adjudication on the merits by a court of
    competent jurisdiction. See O.C.G.A. § 9-12-40. Accordingly, we vacate the
    district court’s opinion and remand for further proceedings.2
    VACATED AND REMANDED.
    2
    We note that the district court has the discretion to stay the proceedings pending the
    parallel state litigation under the abstention doctrine set out in Colorado River Water
    Conservation Dist. v. United States, 
    424 U.S. 800
    (1976). Moorer v. Demopolis Waterworks &
    Sewer Bd., 
    374 F.3d 994
    , 998 (11th Cir. 2004). We express no opinion as to whether now the
    district court should exercise its discretion.
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 14-14641

Citation Numbers: 654 F. App'x 402

Judges: Jordan, Carnes, Pryor

Filed Date: 6/13/2016

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/6/2024