Cert Grant in Taylor v. Sturgell and Preclusion

Last Friday the Supreme Court granted cert in Taylor v. Sturgell, Case No. 07-371. The question presented is: "Can a party be precluded from bringing a claim, under a theory of ‘virtual representation,’ and thereby denied the due process right to a day in court, when the party had no legal relationship with any party to the previous litigation and did not receive notice of that litigation?" Although this issue has been contemplated in the class context by Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts and Eisen, the Court’s decision in Taylor could affect nonclass aggregation even though the issue is presented in a FOIA context.

Here are links to the Supreme Court’s grant of cert., the D.C. Circuit Court’s opinion, Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Brief in Opposition of Cert, Brief in Opposition of Cert (United States), and Petitioner’s Reply.  Thanks to SCOTUSblog for the tip.

ECB