Res judicata – Process – Decree of Absolvitor – Petitory Action – Medium concludendi – Parties Seeking to Recover before Arbiter under a Contract Sums Previously Sought to be Recovered in Petitory Action in which they Tabled no Claim on Basis of Contract Applying.
A firm of contractors brought a petitory action to recover from a railway company a sum of money as restingowing for work done. The railway company defended on the ground that the work was done under a contract and that the sum due under the contract had been paid. The contractors sought to set the contract aside on the grounds of fraud and of essential error, but in this they failed, and the railway company obtained a decree of absolvitor. The contractors then presented to the arbiter named in the contract, a claim for the same sum, made up in the same way, and maintained that the decree in the preceding action did not constitute res judicata as that action only settled that the contract applied.
Held that the matter was res judicata.
Judges:
Lord Chancellor (Finlay), Lord Dunedin, Lord Atkinson, Lord Shaw, and Lord Parmoor
Citations:
[1917] UKHL 117, 55 SLR 117
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Contract
Updated: 17 July 2022; Ref: scu.631015