ROBERT WILLIAMS V. SALLY JEWELL, No. 14-36057 (9th Cir. 2017)

Annotate this Case

Download PDF

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MAR 21 2017 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT ROBERT WILLIAMS; ROBERT WILLIAMS, as Trustee for the Legacy VI Trust, No. 14-36057 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

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.