Beverly R. Mowry, Individually, as Executor of the Estate of David C. Mowry, deceased, and as personal representative of the heirs and next of kin of David C. Mowry v. United States of America

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted the United States’ Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a wrongful-death action brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act and Ohio law. The court held that the claims were barred by federal claim-preclusion principles because they arose from the same accident and injuries litigated in an earlier action, and the plaintiff and beneficiaries were the same parties or in privity with the prior plaintiffs. The order was entered on January 14, 2026.

Holdings

1. Federal common-law principles of res judicata govern the preclusive effect of a prior federal judgment in an FTCA action.
2. Res judicata barred the wrongful-death claims because the prior action resulted in a final judgment on the merits, involved the same defendant and plaintiff in her individual capacity and privies among the heirs, involved the same accident and injury, and resolved or encompassed the causation issues underlying the alleged death.
3. Res judicata may be raised and resolved on a motion to dismiss when the defense is apparent from the pleadings and properly noticeable public records.

Questions Presented

1. Whether res judicata in an FTCA action is governed by federal or Ohio preclusion law.
2. Whether the prior federal judgment precluded the wrongful-death claims because the actions involved the same parties or privies, the same transaction and injury, and issues that were litigated or should have been litigated in the prior action.
3. Whether the complaint stated a claim notwithstanding the defendant's Rule 12(b)(6) motion.

Disposition

dismissed