Cook v. Soo Line Railroad Company

• Decision Date: 16 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. DA 07-0726.,DA 07-0726.
• Parties: Jay COOK, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SOO LINE RAILROAD COMPANY d/b/a Canadian Pacific Railway, Defendant and Appellee.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

198 P.3d 310

2008 MT 421

Jay COOK, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SOO LINE RAILROAD COMPANY d/b/a Canadian Pacific Railway, Defendant and Appellee.

No. DA 07-0726.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs August 19, 2008.

Decided December 16, 2008.

For Appellant: Gregory T. Yaeger, Robert T. Dolan; Yaeger, Jungbauer, & Barczak, PLC; Minneapolis, Minnesota.

For Appellee: Randy J. Cox, Thomas J. Leonard; Boone Karlberg P.C.; Missoula, Montana.

Justice W. WILLIAM LEAPHARTdelivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Jay Cook ("Cook") appeals from an order entered in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, Montana, dismissing Cook's Federal Employers Liability Act ("FELA") claim in favor of Soo Line Railroad Company, d/b/a Canadian Pacific Railway ("Soo Line"), on the basis that an Illinois court's dismissal for interstate forum non conveniens was a final judgment entitled to full faith and credit in Montana. We reverse.

¶ 2 We restate the issue as follows:

¶ 3 Did the District Court err by affording full faith and credit to an order entered in Illinois, which dismissed Cook's FELA claim for interstate forum non conveniens and ordered Cook to re-file in Indiana?

BACKGROUND

¶ 4 This case originates from a claim filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois ("Circuit Court"). In Illinois, Cook sought to recover damages under FELA for injuries Cook allegedly sustained to his knees while working as a railroad conductor for Soo Line. Shortly after the complaint was filed in Illinois, however, Soo Line moved to dismiss the claim on the basis of interstate forum non conveniens, which the Circuit Court granted. In dismissing the claim, the Circuit Court ordered Cook to re-file in Indiana, stating, "This case is dismissed, to be re-filed in Indiana State Court or [the United States District Court] for the Southern District of Indiana as stated on the record." According to Soo Line, the Circuit Court dismissed the case, in part, because "Cook and most of the witnesses reside[d] in Indiana" and because "Cook worked the majority of his career in Indiana," the State in which Cook allegedly sustained his work-related injuries.

¶ 5 Cook, however, did not appeal the Illinois order or re-file in Indiana. Instead, Cook filed his FELA claim in Cascade County, Montana, even though Cook did not live or work for Soo Line in Montana. In the complaint, Cook stated that jurisdiction in Montana was proper under FELA because of Soo Line's ownership of railroad track "in or around Sweet Grass, Montana, located in Toole County, Montana." After the claim was filed in Cascade County, the parties stipulated to transferring the case to Lewis and Clark County, the location of Soo Line's registered agent. Thereafter, Soo Line again sought to dismiss Cook's claim, arguing to the District Court that the Circuit Court's order in Illinois was a final judgment entitled to full faith and credit in Montana. Specifically, Soo Line contended that the Illinois order was "entitled to res judicata effect" in Montana and stated that "[b]ecause the proper forum for this action was already determined by the Cook County court to be Indiana, [Cook] cannot simply disregard that Order and re-file the case [in Montana]." In response, Cook argued that "a dismissal on the grounds of interstate forum non conveniens is not a final adjudication on the merits as would be required for the elements of res judicata ...." Thus, according to Cook, the Illinois order was not entitled to full faith and credit in Montana. Finally, Cook claimed the Circuit Court did not have authority to order Cook to re-file the case in Indiana and that it therefore had no effect on his ability to re-file his FELA claim in Montana.

¶ 6 The District Court granted Soo Line's motion and dismissed Cook's claims on the basis that the Illinois order was a final judgment entitled to full faith and credit in Montana. Cook appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7 We review a district court's conclusions of law to determine whether the court's interpretation of the law is correct. In re Marriage of Fontenot, 2006 MT 324, ¶ 20, 335 Mont. 79, ¶ 20, 149 P.3d 28, ¶ 20. Further, "this Court is not bound by the determinations of the trial court on questions of law and we are free to draw our own conclusions from the evidence presented." Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. McElvain, 221 Mont. 138, 144-45, 717 P.2d 1081, 1085 (1986) (citing Sharp v. Hoerner Waldorf Co., 178 Mont. 419, 584 P.2d 1298 (1978)).

DISCUSSION

¶ 8 Did the District Court err by affording full faith and credit to an order entered in Illinois, which dismissed Cook's FELA claim for interstate forum non conveniens and ordered Cook to re-file in Indiana?

¶ 9 Cook contends that the District Court erred by affording the Illinois order full faith and credit in Montana and dismissing Cook's FELA claim on the basis of res judicata. Cook argues that, "[u]nder Illinois law, a dismissal for interstate forum non conveniens is not a final judgment on the merits for purposes of res judicata or collateral estoppel, and thus is not entitled to full faith and credit in Montana." While Cook does not dispute that the Full Faith and Credit Clause requires courts in Montana to recognize a valid judgment from another state, he argues that "finality is not the only prerequisite to the application of res judicata." He claims that the pertinent question is whether the judgment in Illinois was made "on the merits." Since a dismissal for forum non conveniens is not "on the merits" in Illinois, Cook reasons that it cannot have preclusive effect or be afforded full faith and credit in Montana. Cook also argues that the portion of the Circuit Court's decision ordering him to re-file in Indiana was not a valid judgment, thus precluding full faith and credit in Montana. Cook states that the Circuit Court "had no authority or jurisdiction to either transfer Cook's FELA case to another state or to dictate venue upon re-filing."

¶ 10 Soo line, however, argues that the Illinois judgment was "a final judgment entitled to full faith and credit in Montana." In support of its position, Soo Line cites a decision from an Illinois appellate court which concludes that a "change of venue on forum non conveniens grounds" is a "final and appealable order." Nemanich v. Dollar Rent-A-Car Services, 90 Ill.App.3d 484, 489, 45 Ill.Dec. 845, 413 N.E.2d 178, 182 (1980). Therefore, according to Soo Line, the judgment was final in Illinois for purposes of full faith and credit and entitled to res judicata effect in Montana. In light of these arguments, Soo Line contends that the District Court correctly afforded preclusive effect to the Illinois court's dismissal of Cook's FELA claim.

¶ 11 We note first that the District Court did not specifically state in its order that it dismissed Cook's FELA claim on the basis of res judicata, even though Cook and Soo Line argued the issue in their briefing on the motion to dismiss. Instead, the District Court stated that "[a] grant, but not the denial, of a forum non conveniens motion is a final judgment appealable as such, even when the order of dismissal is conditional" (citing 32A Am.Jur.2d Federal Courts § 1359), and that the order in Illinois "was a final order which [Cook] could have appealed but chose not to do so." Based on the foregoing, the District Court concluded that the dismissal in Illinois for interstate forum non conveniens was a final judgment entitled to full faith and credit in Montana. However, it is undisputed that the effect of the District Court's dismissal was to preclude Cook from litigating his FELA claim in Montana. Accordingly, we begin our analysis with a discussion of whether the dismissal in Illinois on the basis of forum non conveniens had any preclusive effect in the State of Montana— especially given Montana's open door policy with respect to FELA cases.

¶ 12 Generally, the doctrine of res judicata (more commonly known as claim preclusion) provides "that a final judgment on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction is conclusive as to causes of action or issues thereby litigated, as to the parties and their privies...." Brault v. Smith, 209 Mont. 21, 26, 679 P.2d 236, 238-39 (1984) (citing Meagher Co. Newlan Creek Water Dist. v. Walter, 169 Mont. 358, 361, 547 P.2d 850, 852 (1976)). In Brault, we also noted that "[t]he basic proposition behind the doctrine of res judicata has always remained the same: a party should not be able to relitigate a matter he or she has already had an opportunity to litigate." However, we also noted in Thoring v. LaCounte, 225 Mont. 77, 79-80, 733 P.2d 340, 341-42 (1987), that "the application of res judicata presumes a judgment was rendered on the merits of the case, the policy being that a lawsuit should bring not only justice to the parties, but also provide a final resolution to the controversy." To determine whether a judgment was rendered on the merits, we look to the local law of the state that issued the judgment, and "will recognize a judgment not on the merits only as to the issues actually decided." Thoring, 225 Mont. at 80, 733 P.2d at 342.

¶ 13 As Cook points out, a dismissal for forum non conveniens in Illinois is not an adjudication on the merits. Wakehouse v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 353 Ill.App.3d 346, 351, 289 Ill.Dec. 66, 818 N.E.2d 1269, 1275 (2004) (see also A.W. Wendell & Sons v. Qazi, 254 Ill.App.3d 97, 193 Ill.Dec. 247, 626 N.E.2d 280 (1993)). In Wakehouse, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, addressed the issue of whether a plaintiff was precluded from re-filing a claim in Illinois when the claim had already been dismissed for forum non conveniens in another Illinois county. 353 Ill.App.3d at 347-48, 289 Ill.Dec. 66, 818 N.E.2d at 1272-73. Upon addressing the issue, the court determined that the doctrine of res judicata did not preclude the plaintiff from re-filing in another Illinois county since a dismissal for forum non...