Willis Wiley v. American Zurich Insurance Co.

Case: 16-20183 Document: 00514046940 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/23/2017
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 16-20183 FILED
Summary Calendar June 23, 2017
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
WILLIS FLOYD WILEY,
Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
AMERICAN ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant-Appellee
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:15-CV-3241
Before DAVIS, SOUTHWICK, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Willis Floyd Wiley filed a pro se civil rights complaint against the
American Zurich Insurance Company (Zurich) alleging that Zurich violated his
rights under the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to pay workers
compensation death benefits for the death of his father. Zurich filed a motion
to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The district court
ordered that the suit be dismissed because litigation of the alleged violation of
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 16-20183 Document: 00514046940 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/23/2017
No. 16-20183
Wiley’s rights under the Fourteenth Amendment by Zurich was barred by the
doctrine of res judicata. Wiley appealed.
“Claim preclusion, or res judicata, bars the litigation of claims that either
have been litigated or should have been raised in an earlier suit.” Test Masters
Educational Services, Inc. v. Singh, 428 F.3d 559, 571 (5th Cir. 2005). “The res
judicata effect of a prior judgment is a question of law that this court reviews
de novo.” Id. Wiley has not shown that the district court’s order in his first
case was not a final order on the merits of the federal claim he sought to raise
in the suit now on appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3); United States v.
Shanbaum, 10 F.3d 305, 310 (5th Cir. 1994).
AFFIRMED.
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