Thursday 13 March 2014

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, Dean, Former Professor NYIT and UT Dallas: On Collateral Estoppel And Materiality of The Finding

Here is a report on Collateral Estoppel and Materiality of an earlier finding by Professor Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, formerly of NYIT and UT Dallas.

A long line of decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals (Second Circuit), and New York Court of Appeals, have held that, where a decision-maker makes a finding, the finding is not collateral estoppel in a subsequent proceeding unless the finding was material and decisive to the decision, even if it was raised and litigated, particularly where the decision-maker himself explicitly states that the issue was “immaterial” to his decision, and that if there is any uncertainty at all, collateral estoppel shall not apply.

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram NYIT