Robert Williams v. Sally Jewell , 683 F. App'x 653 ( 2017 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MAR 21 2017
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ROBERT WILLIAMS; ROBERT No. 14-36057
WILLIAMS, as Trustee for the Legacy VI
Trust, D.C. No. 9:14-cv-00075-DWM
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
MEMORANDUM*
v.
RYAN ZINKE, Secretary of the
Department of the Interior;** GREGORY
MARENGO; FIRST AMERICAN TITLE
COMPANY; BUREAU OF INDIAN
AFFAIRS,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Montana
Donald W. Molloy, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 9, 2017***
Portland, Oregon
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
Ryan Zinke has been substituted for Sally Jewell pursuant to Fed. R. App.
P. 43(c).
***
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without
oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Before: O’SCANNLAIN, FISHER and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges.
Robert Williams appeals the district court’s order granting First American
Title Company’s motion to dismiss based on res judicata and collateral estoppel.
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
The district court properly dismissed Williams’ claim for breach of the title
insurance contract because that claim was previously decided by a Montana state
court. Under Montana law, res judicata “bars a party from relitigating a matter that
she has already had an opportunity to litigate.” Baltrusch v. Baltrusch, 130 P.3d
1267, 1273 (Mont. 2006).1 Here, the dispute is whether Williams holds title to
certain property in fee simple or whether it remains in trust status, with title held by
the United States. Although Williams argues otherwise, that precise question was
resolved by the Lake County, Montana district court in a previous title insurance
claim Williams brought against First American. Moreover, because Williams both
raised and extensively briefed the fee-versus-trust question before the state court,
his contention that he did not have a full and fair opportunity to litigate this claim
fails. Res judicata bars Williams from relitigating the title insurance claim here.
AFFIRMED.
1
Montana’s claim preclusion rules control. See McDonald v. City of West
Branch, Mich., 466 U.S. 284, 287 (1984); 28 U.S.C. § 1738.
2