Does collateral estoppel prevent a plaintiff from bringing a wrongful death claim against his deceased father?

6 In an earlier case, Secrest v. Pacific Electric Ry. Co. (1943) 60 Cal.App.2d 746, 141 P.2d 747, the court disallowed the wrongful death claim. There, however, the heir had been a party to the prior suit. It is not clear if the court would otherwise have applied collateral estoppel.

7 Recent cases from other jurisdictions support the Evans reasoning. For example, in Alfone v. Sarno (1981) 87 N.J. 99, 111, 432 A.2d 857, the court stated, "[I]t would not be fair to one charged with liability for a wrongful act to defend successfully against the charge in a personal injury suit but subsequently to be forced to defend a second time, possibly years later, for death resulting from those same injuries."