Salazar V. Murphy

The defense of res judicata arose by virtue of the fact that the administrator of decedent's estate in New York filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging the decedent had met his death through the negligence of Denver-Chicago Trucking Co., Inc. The action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to New Mexico, and thereupon the defendant in that case, Denver-Chicago Trucking Co., Inc., filed a third-party complaint against Vincent Murphy, doing business as Belen Builders Supply Co., alleging that the negligence of third-party defendant's driver caused the accident, and that if the defendant was liable for any damages to plaintiff, the third-party defendant was either liable for contribution or indemnity to third-party plaintiff. The third-party defendant answered denying negligence on his part, and alleging contributory negligence of plaintiff's decedent. On the date set for trial of the case in federal court, plaintiff failed to appear and the court entered an order dismissing both plaintiff's complaint and defendants' third-party complaint with prejudice. It is the federal court judgment which was determined by the court below to be res judicata of the present proceeding.