What is the doctrine of collateral estoppel?

Collateral estoppel is a legal doctrine that prevents a party from relitigating an issue that has already been decided in a previous case. This means that if a court already made a decision on a certain issue, it cannot be retried in a subsequent case. In Delaware, collateral estoppel is based on the Holding of the Supreme Court in Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore, 439 U.S. 322 (1979). In the Parklane case, the Supreme Court held that collateral estoppel involves two questions. The first is whether the issue in the subsequent case was actually raised and decided in the prior case. If so, then the party seeking to use collateral estoppel must show that the party against whom it is being used had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue in the prior case. In Delaware, collateral estoppel is an important part of civil procedure. It ensures that a party does not have to relitigate an issue that has already been decided in a prior case and that neither party is unfairly prejudiced by having to litigate the same issue multiple times. This also helps to conserve judicial resources by avoiding unnecessary trials.

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What is the doctrine of collateral estoppel?

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