Velasquez v. Franz

In Velasquez v. Franz, 123 N.J. 498, 589 A.2d 143 (1991), the Court held that the grant of an F.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) motion in the federal court bars subsequent litigation in the state court system. In Velasquez, the plaintiff lost part of his right hand while operating machinery. He brought claims in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on diversity of citizenship jurisdiction. The defendants moved under 12(b)(6) to dismiss plaintiff's cause of action for failing to state a claim. The court granted the defendants' motion. Id. at 501- 502, 589 A.2d 143. The plaintiff did not appeal the dismissal, but instead filed a virtually identical claim in the Superior Court, Law Division. Defendants again moved to dismiss, relying also on res judicata as a bar to the complaint. The Law Division dismissed the complaint and we affirmed. The Supreme Court likewise affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff's complaint, reasoning that under federal procedural law a dismissal based on 12(b)(6) is an adjudication on the merits. Unless the judge specifies that the complaint is dismissed without prejudice, a 12(b)(6) motion has res judicata effect on the cause of action. Id. at 507-508, 589 A.2d 143.