Strazza Building & Construction, Inc. v. Harris

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of summary judgment because the presumption of privity between a general contractor and subcontractor did not apply when a property owner sought to bind the general contractor to a prior judgment against the subcontractor. Applying equitable privity factors, the court concluded that the subcontractor had not sufficiently represented the general contractor's materially broader interests, leaving a genuine issue of material fact as to privity and res judicata. The court also declined to reconsider the existing rule permitting immediate appeals from denials of res judicata defenses because that issue was not presented for review.