COA Applies Res Judicata To Sovereign Immunity Dismissal

Today in Herring v. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Bd. of Educ. the Court of Appeals held that, for purposes of res judicata, a dismissal on the ground of soverign immunity constitutes a final adjudication on the merits entitled preclusive effect in a subsequent action between the parties. The Court then reversed an award of Rule 11 sanctions against plaintiffs' attorneys, in part because, before today's decision, "no case had specifically held that a dismissal on grounds of sovereign immunity was a final adjudication on the merits barring subsequent actions" under the doctrine of res judicata.