Direct estoppel

The doctrine of direct estoppel prevents a party to a litigation from relitigating an issue that was decided against that party in that litigation, under certain circumstances. Specifically, direct estoppel applies where the issue was decided as part of a larger claim which was finally decided, and stops the issue from being redecided in another claim of the same lawsuit. Contrast collateral estoppel, which stops a claim from being redecided in another lawsuit.