Claim Preclusion

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: Adam Thompson, et al. v. Mueller Tax and Accounting, Inc.,

Case No.: 2016AP77

Officials: Kloppenburg, P.J, Sherman, and Blanchard, JJ.

Focus: Claim Preclusion

Adam Thompson, doing business as Thompson Investments, and A & M Plumbing, Inc. (collectively, “Thompson”) appeals a judgment dismissing Thompson’s accounting negligence action, filed in Juneau County, against Mueller Tax and Accounting Inc. (“Mueller”). This Juneau County action (“the instant action”) was preceded by a related, previously resolved action between the same parties in Waushara County (“the first action”). The circuit court dismissed the instant action, based on the nature of the first action, both under the doctrine of claim preclusion and because the instant action is a compulsory counterclaim arising out of the same transaction as the first action. On appeal, Thompson challenges only the determination regarding claim preclusion and not any separate aspect of the compulsory counterclaim determination. For the following reasons we affirm.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.