If an employee sues and a judge tosses out her case, can she try again in a different court?

Yes, she can, according to one recent decision. Here’s what happened:

A 42-year-old employee sued her employer for age discrimination after she was demoted. She first went to a federal court, which threw her case out.

So what did she do? She tried again in a state court, suing under a Wisconsin law banning age discrimination. This time, her case was allowed to move forward.

The employer argued she was barred from suing again by the doctrine of “claim preclusion,” which prohibits people from suing the same defendant twice on the same grounds.

The judge disagreed. Since her first suit was under a federal law, and her second under state law, the suits weren’t technically on the “same grounds.”

Cite: Aldrich v. Labor and Industry Review Commission

Tags: claims preclusion, state court, State Law, sued twice, summary judgement