/eye-DEN-tuh-tee of PAR-teez or their PRIV-eez/·phrase
Also known as:identity of parties · privity of parties · privity · res judicata parties
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A requirement for the application of res judicata or collateral estoppel that the parties in the second action must be identical to or stand in a legal relationship of privity with the parties in the first action.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Original Tenant Remains Bound
Liberty Communications leased rooftop space to Republic Connect under a lease containing a non-interference covenant. Republic Connect assigned the lease to West Broadband with Liberty's written consent but without any release of Republic Connect. When interference complaints arose, Liberty sued Republic Connect. Because Republic Connect remained in privity of contract with Liberty, the parties were identical for preclusion purposes and Republic Connect could not escape liability by pointing to the assignment.
Subsequent Buyer Lacks Privity
A builder sold a new home to the first purchaser under an implied warranty of habitability. The first purchaser later sold the home to a subsequent buyer who discovered defects. The subsequent buyer sued the builder. Because the subsequent buyer was not in privity with the builder, there was no identity of parties and the subsequent buyer could not enforce the warranty against the original builder.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Restatements
Casebooks
Tacking Adverse Possession
An adverse possessor occupied land for seven years and then conveyed the land to a successor who continued the occupation for eight more years. The successor claimed title by adverse possession. Because privity existed between the successive occupants through the conveyance, the periods could be tacked together to satisfy the statutory period.
Servitude Created Without Privity
A landowner granted a right-of-way easement to a railroad across land the landowner held only as a life tenant in common with others. The railroad later sought to enforce the easement against the remaindermen. Because no privity relationship between the parties is required to create a servitude, the easement bound the land regardless of the limited estate held by the grantor.
Transferee Bound by Lease Covenant
A tenant under a lease containing a maintenance covenant assigned the leasehold to a new tenant. The landlord sued the assignee for breach after the assignment. Because the transfer brought the assignee into privity of estate with the landlord and the covenant touched and concerned the land, the assignee stood in the shoes of the original tenant for enforcement purposes.
Manufacturer Liable to Bystander
A manufacturer produced a defective brake caliper that was installed on a vehicle. The vehicle later struck a pedestrian because the caliper failed. The pedestrian sued the manufacturer in negligence. Because the manufacturer owed a duty to all foreseeable plaintiffs regardless of contractual privity, the pedestrian could proceed even though the pedestrian had never dealt directly with the manufacturer.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What must a party show to establish identity of parties or their privies for res judicata?+
The party must demonstrate that the litigants in the second suit are the same persons or entities as in the first suit or that they stand in a legal relationship of privity such that one is bound by the judgment against the other.
Supporting sources
Does privity of estate alone create identity of parties for preclusion purposes?+
Privity of estate can establish the required relationship when the obligation rests solely on that privity and the transfer does not terminate it, allowing the original party to remain bound.
Supporting sources
When does a subsequent purchaser stand in privity with the original builder for warranty claims?+
Courts are split. Some require direct contractual privity and therefore deny subsequent purchasers the right to enforce implied warranties against the original builder.
How does privity affect tacking in adverse possession?+
Periods of adverse use by successive occupants may be added together only when privity exists between them, typically through a conveyance of the occupied land.
Is privity required to create a servitude that binds successors?+
No privity relationship between the parties is necessary to create a servitude that will run with the land.
357 U.S. 235 (1958)Conflict of Laws
…U. S. 343; Baker v. Baker, Eccles & Co., 242 U. S. 394. But we have no such situation here. The trustee of the trust was in privity with the deceased. She was the settlor; and under the trust, the trustee was to do her bidding. That is to say, the trustee, though managing the res during the life of the settlor, was on…
TortsNegligence · The duty question, including failure to act, unforeseeable plaintiffs, and obligations to control the conduct of third partiesUBEFoundational