Flipped Burden Prevents Issue Preclusion

Bennett v. Rancho Cal. Water Dist., No. G054617 (D4d3 May 29, 2019)

Collateral estoppel doesn’t apply when, during the first proceeding, the party seeking preclusion bore a lower burden of proof. Here, the prior case was an administrative employee benefits proceeding. In it, the employer bore the burden to prove that plaintiff was not an employee. It did not meet it. But now we’re in a whistleblower retaliation case where the plaintiff bears the burden to prove he is an employee. So plaintiff can’t rely on the defendant’s failure to meet its burden in the admin case for issue preclusion on the employment issue.

Reversed.