Judicial Estoppel by the Circuits

By Karin Bruce, Staff Attorney for Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Jan P. Johnson (Sacramento, CA)

The doctrine of judicial estoppel precludes a party from taking a position in a case that is contrary to a position it has taken in earlier legal proceedings. The purpose of judicial estoppel is to protect the integrity of the judicial process.

Most courts consider three elements in determining the application of judicial estoppel:

A party’s position in a case or controversy which is plainly inconsistent with a prior position;
A court accepted the prior position; and

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