Odis R. Shelton and Mary Sue Shelton, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. the United States, Defendant-appellee, 932 F.2d 980 (Fed. Cir. 1991)

The Sheltons, pro se, appeal from the July 26, 1990 order of the United States Claims Court which granted the Government's motion to dismiss. The Claims Court dismissed the Sheltons' complaint with prejudice on the alternative bases of res judicata and the statute of limitations. This court affirms.

OPINION

The foreclosure sale of the Sheltons' property on May 7, 1982 gave rise to the their claims. The Sheltons filed this action November 14, 1989, more than the six years after the event which accrued the cause of action. 28 U.S.C. § 2501 (West Supp.1990). The Claims Court thus correctly dismissed this action.

The Claims Court also correctly applied the doctrine of res judicata to the Sheltons' claims. The Sheltons have thus far sought the same relief on the same claims in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Those proceedings squarely decided the same issues the Sheltons sought to litigate in the Claims Court. The doctrine of res judicata precludes another suit on the same facts between the same parties.