Chapter 18 - § 18.6 • EFFECT OF CONFIRMATION AND ENTRY OF JUDGMENT

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 18.6 • EFFECT OF CONFIRMATION AND ENTRY OF JUDGMENT

See § 16.7 as to effect of an award.

The judgment so entered shall have the same force and effect in all respects as and be subject to the same provisions of law relating to a judgment entered in a civil action; the judgment may be enforced as if it had been rendered in a civil action in the court in which it was entered.⁷⁶

As in other types of proceedings, issue preclusion bars relitigation of an issue [decided in arbitration] if (1) the issue precluded is identical to an issue actually determined in the prior proceedings; (2) the party against whom estoppel is asserted has been a party to or is in privity with a party in the prior proceeding; (3) there is a final judgment on the merits in the prior proceeding; and (4) the party against whom the doctrine is asserted has had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue in the prior proceeding.⁷⁷

In Barnett v. Elite Properties of America, Inc.,⁷⁸ the Colorado Court of Appeals denied issue preclusion to any judgment that is not final.

[A] judgment is not final for purposes of issue preclusion until certiorari has been resolved both in the Colorado Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Certiorari can be resolved in any of three ways: (1) the parties fail to file a timely petition for certiorari, (2) the court denies the petition for certiorari, or (3) the court issues an opinion after granting certiorari.

§ 18.6.1—Issue Preclusion By Award/Judgment (Res Judicata And Collateral Estoppel)

An order confirming an arbitration award is entitled to res judicata and collateral estoppel effect in subsequent proceedings, once all appeals are exhausted or time barred.⁷⁹ Even an award that has not been confirmed might be entitled to some res judicata and collateral estoppel effect.⁸⁰ (This may be important if the prevailing party did not seek confirmation within the required time period.) However, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that a confirmed arbitration award cannot be used for issue preclusion to dismiss non-arbitrable claims until certiorari on the judgment issued on the award has been resolved in both the state and federal supreme courts.⁸¹

In Judd Construction Co. v. Evans Joint Venture⁸² and Container Technology Corp. v. J. Gadsden Pty., Ltd.,⁸³ the courts noted that an arbitration award is tantamount to judgment. The parties are probably "bound" by an unconfirmed arbitration award, although judicial enforcement may not be available.

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