No. 18-1086 In the Supreme Court of the United States Lucky Brand Dungarees, et al., Petitioners, v. Marcel Fashion Group, Inc., Respondent. On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit BRIEF FOR RESPONDENT Eugene R. Fidell Michael B. Kimberly Yale Law School Counsel of Record Supreme Court Clinic Paul W. Hughes 127 Wall Street Andrew A. Lyons-Berg New Haven, CT 06511 McDermott Will & Emery LLP 500 North Capitol Street NW Louis R. Gigliotti Washington, DC 20001 Louis R. Gigliotti, PA (202) 756-8000 1605 Dewey Street [email protected] Hollywood, FL 33020 Robert L. Greener Law Office of Robert L. Greener P.C. 112 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 Counsel for Respondent TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................. 1 Statement .................................................................... 6 A. The 2001 lawsuit and settlement .................. 6 B. Lucky’s continued infringement of Marcel’s mark, and the 2005 suit .................. 6 C. Lucky’s identical post-judgment infringement, and the present suit ............. 11 Summary of Argument .............................................. 16 Argument ................................................................... 20 I. A defendant who loses in one lawsuit may not raise in a subsequent lawsuit involving the same cause of action a defense that was available in the first lawsuit .............................. 20 A. Res judicata promotes repose and the finality of judgments, discourages repetitive litigation, and preserves judicial resources ......................................... 22 B. Res judicata precludes not only claims, but also defenses .......................................... 24 1. Defense preclusion generally bars a former defendant from converting a neglected defense into a claim .............. 26 2. Defense preclusion also bars a defendant from raising in a second action a defense omitted from a first action addressing the same claims ....... 31 II. The Second Circuit correctly applied defense preclusion in this case ........................................ 36 ii A. This case and the 2005 lawsuit concern a common nucleus of operative facts ........... 37 B. Defense preclusion is flexible and discretionary, and its application in this case was manifestly fair .............................. 42 III. Lucky’s remaining objections are not persuasive ........................................................... 46 A. Davis does not control .................................. 47 B. Defense preclusion is consistent with the federal rules and due process ................ 49 Conclusion ................................................................. 53 iii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Allan Block Co. v. County Materials Corp., 512 F.3d 912 (7th Cir. 2008) ................................ 49 Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90 (1980) .................................... 35, 41, 48 Astoria Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Solimino, 501 U.S. 104 (1991) .............................. 5, 23, 37, 39 B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 1293 (2015) .......................................... 23 Baldwin v. Iowa State Traveling Men’s Association, 283 U.S. 522 (1931) .............................................. 23 Brown v. Felsen, 442 U.S. 127 (1979) ........................................ 26, 36 Capitol Hill Group v. Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman LLC, 569 F.3d 485 (D.C. Cir. 2009) .............................. 50 City of Arlington v. FCC, 569 U.S. 290 (2013) .............................................. 52 City of Beloit v. Morgan, 74 U.S. 619 (1868) ........................................ passim Cogdell v. Hospital Center at Orange, 560 A.2d 1169 (N.J. 1989) .................................... 35 Commerce Bancorp, Inc. v. BankAtlantic, 2004 WL 612525 (D.N.J. Jan. 12, 2004) ............. 50 Compania Financiara Libano, S.A. v. Simmons, 53 S.W.3d 365 (Tex. 2001) ................................... 25 Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Co. v. Sargent, 27 Ohio St. 233 (1875) ......................................... 23 iv Cases—continued Creech v. Addington, 281 S.W.3d 363 (Tenn. 2009) .................... 41, 45-46 Cromwell v. County of Sac, 94 U.S. 351 (1877) ........................................ passim Currier v. Virginia, 138 S. Ct. 2144 (2018) ................................. 2, 37-38 Davis v. Brown, 94 U.S. 423 (1877) ........................................ passim Federated Department Stores, Inc. v. Moitie, 452 U.S. 394 (1981) .............................................. 23 Foster v. Hallco Manufacturing Co., 947 F.2d 469 (Fed. Cir. 1991) ........................ 25, 30 Fox v. Maulding, 112 F.3d 453 (10th Cir. 1997) .............................. 29 GLF Construction Corp. v. LAN/STV, 414 F.3d 553 (5th Cir. 2005) ................................ 25 Golden v. Commissioner, 548 F.3d 487 (6th Cir. 2008) ................................ 30 Harsh International, Inc. v. Monfort Industries, Inc., 662 N.W.2d 574 (Neb. 2003) .......................... 25, 29 Hauschildt v. Beckingham, 686 N.W.2d 829 (Minn. 2004) .............................. 44 Henderson v. Henderson, 67 Eng. Rep. 313 (1843) ....................................... 33 Henderson v. Snider Bros., 439 A.2d 481 (D.C. 1981) ..................................... 29 Henry Modell & Co. v. Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, 502 N.E.2d 978 (N.Y. 1986) ........................... 29, 51 v Cases—continued Henry v. Farmer City State Bank, 808 F.2d 1228 (7th Cir. 1986) .............................. 29 Herrmann v. Cencom Cable Associates, 999 F.2d 223 (7th Cir. 1993) ................................ 38 J.C. & S.C. v. Adoption of Minor Child, 797 So. 2d 209 (Miss. 2001) ................................. 25 Johnson’s Island, Inc. v. Board of Township Trustees, 431 N.E.2d 672 (Ohio 1982) ........................... 25, 29 Jones v. Strauss, 800 S.W.2d 842 (Tex. 1990) ................................. 29 Kale v. Combined Insurance Co. of America, 924 F.2d 1161 (1st Cir. 1991) .............................. 38 Kozyra v. Allen, 973 F.2d 1110 (3d Cir. 1992) ............................... 35 Lamb v. Geovjian, 683 A.2d 731 (Vt. 1996) .................................. 26-27 Lawlor v. National Screen Service Corp., 349 U.S. 322 (1955) .................................... 4, 13, 41 Lord v. Garland, 168 P.2d 5 (Cal. 1946) .......................................... 46 Martin v. Cash Exp., Inc., 60 So. 3d 236 (Ala. 2010) .......................... 25, 28-29 Martino v. McDonald’s Systems, Inc., 598 F.2d 1079 (7th Cir. 1979) ........................ 29, 51 Media Rights Technologies, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 922 F.3d 1014 (9th Cir. 2019) .............................. 41 Mercoid Corp. v. Mid-Continent Investment Co., 320 U.S. 661 (1944) .............................................. 34 vi Cases—continued Mills v. City of Grand Forks, 813 N.W.2d 574 (N.D. 2012) ................................ 25 Montana v. United States, 440 U.S. 147 (1979) .............................................. 23 Moore v. Harjo, 144 F.2d 318 (10th Cir. 1944) ........................ 32, 50 Moore v. New York Cotton Exchange, 270 U.S. 593 (1926) ........................................ 38, 42 Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems v. Wise, 304 P.3d 1192 (Haw. 2013) ........................ 25 Nasalok Coating Corp. v. Nylok Corp., 522 F.3d 1320 (Fed. Cir. 2008) ...................... 29, 32 Nevada v. United States, 463 U.S. 110 (1983) ........................................ 22, 26 Paramount Pictures Corp. v. Allianz Risk Transfer AG, 96 N.E.3d 737 (N.Y. 2018) ........................ 48-49, 51 Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore, 439 U.S. 322 (1979) .................................. 15, 23, 45 Pension Benefits Guarantee Corp. v. Beverley, 404 F.3d 243 (4th Cir. 2005) ................................ 25 Presidential Bank, FSB v. 1733 27th St. SE LLC, 318 F. Supp. 3d 61 (D.D.C. 2018) ................... 34-35 Prewett v. Weems, 749 F.3d 454 (6th Cir. 2014) ................................ 25 Reed v. Allen, 286 U.S. 191 (1932) .............................................. 23 R.G. Financial Corp. v. Vergara-Nunez, 446 F.3d 178 (1st Cir. 2006) ................................ 50 vii Cases—continued Richmond v. Wawaloam Reservation, Inc., 850 A.2d 924 (R.I. 2004) .................................. 1, 25 Riverwood Commercial Park v. Standard Oil Co., 729 N.W.2d 101 (N.D. 2007) ................................ 45 Robbins v. Daniel, 284 N.W. 793 (Iowa 1939) .................................... 29 Sherrer v. Sherrer, 334 U.S. 343 (1948) ........................................ 51, 52 Slider v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 557 S.E.2d 883 (W. Va. 2001) .............................. 25 Sparks v. Ewing, 163 So. 112 (Fla. 1935) ........................................ 52 Spiker v. Spiker, 708 N.W.2d 347 (Iowa 2006) ................................ 24 Stout v. Lye, 103 U.S. 66 (1880) ..................................... 27-28, 30 Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880 (2008) ................................................ 1 TechnoMarine SA v. Giftports, Inc., 758 F.3d 493 (2d Cir. 2014) ................................. 41 Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby v. Brown, 732 F.2d 345 (3d Cir. 1984) ................................. 25 United States v. Beane, 841 F.3d 1273 (11th Cir. 2016) ............................ 25 United States v. Bryant, 15 F.3d 756 (8th Cir. 1994) .................................. 25 United States v. Tohono O’Odham Nation, 563 U.S. 307 (2011)