Retaliatory Dismissal

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Civil

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: EASTERBROOK, WILLIAMS, and SYKES, Circuit Judges

Retaliatory Dismissal

No. 13-2063 Lisa Barr v. Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University

Appellants dismissal with prejudice of previous claim where appellant failed to effective proper service precluded subsequent lawsuit.

“This argument is squarely foreclosed by a long line of our decisions applying preclusion doctrine to block just this kind of claim-splitting in the employment-discrimination context. See, e.g., Palka, 662 F.3d at 437–38; Czarniecki, 633 F.3d at 549– 51; Hermann, 999 F.2d at 225. The basic principle underlying these cases is that a plaintiff cannot evade preclusion by “identify[ing] a slightly different cause of action with one element different from those in the first, second, or third lawsuits between the same parties arising from the same events.” Czarniecki, 633 F.3d at 550. And the requirement to exhaust administrative remedies is no excuse for claimsplitting in this context. We’ve repeatedly explained that a plaintiff in this situation—that is, a discrimination claimant who is waiting for a right-to-sue letter on new claims that are factually linked to an earlier suit—can easily ask the district court to stay the first case until the EEOC letter arrives. See, e.g., Palka, 662 F.3d at 438; Czarniecki, 633 F.3d at 550–51.”

Affirmed.

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