Festa v. Watertown Police Dept.

Syllabus

The plaintiffs appealed from the trial court's judgment dismissing their action alleging negligence by the defendant town and its chief of police. They claimed that the court improperly granted the defendants' motion to dismiss on the grounds of res judicata and collateral estoppel. Held: The trial court improperly granted the defendant's motion to dismiss on the grounds of res judicata and collateral estoppel, as neither doctrine implicates the court's subject matter jurisdiction and, thus, the defendants' motion to dismiss was not the proper procedural vehicle to adjudicate the applicability of those doctrines. Argued February 18—officially released June 9, 2026