Name
Karimova v. NorDx
Insurance Company
Synernet
Date Decided
January 16, 2018
Panel Members
Glen Goodnough
Sue Jerome
Mike Stovall
Categories
Res JudicataTags
File Size
167 KB
DownloadSummary from the Troubh Heisler Attorneys
Ms. Karimova claimed a 2006 carpal tunnel injury, which she had failed to raise in a previous round of litigation involving an unsuccessful mediation of her other claimed dates of injury. NorDx argued that, because she could have raised that date of injury in the prior mediation, her failure to do so then barred her claim now under the principles of res judicata. Judge Collier disagreed with NorDx and granted Ms. Karimova’s petition. NorDx appealed.
The Appellate Division panel held that res judicata “does not extend so far as to necessarily bar a claim” that the employee could have asserted in a previous round of litigation, and that res judicata applies only after the WCB renders a final adjudication. Although mediation agreements are equivalent to a final adjudication, “records of unresolved mediations that merely recite issues in dispute do not have the same res judicata effect.”