Where a man previously claimed his termination by a government contractor constituted discrimination and retaliation, and the contractor prevailed on those claims, res judicata barred the man’s new complaint that the same conduct was in retaliation for his alleged whistleblowing activity.
Background
Floret Ikome joined SRA International Inc. on July 1, 2015. On Nov. 30, 2015, SRA merged with one of its competitors, thus forming CSRA LLC. Plaintiff alleges that, after failing to assign him to another contract, CSRA terminated his employment on June 30, 2017. On Oct. 2, 2017, plaintiff sued CSRA for discrimination, retaliation and violation of the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law. CSRA eventually prevailed on all claims.
In 2018, General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., or GDIT, purchased CSRA. On Aug. 13, 2019, plaintiff filed a complaint with the Office of Inspector General, or OIG. On Sept. 6, 2022, plaintiff filed a single-count complaint in this court against GDIT, alleging retaliation in violation of 41 U.S.C. § 4712, which protects federal contractor whistleblowers. GDIT has filed a motion to dismiss.
Res judicata
Defendant argues that plaintiff’s 41 U.S.C. § 4712 retaliation claim is precluded. This court looks to three elements when deciding whether claim preclusion applies, asking whether there is: “(1) a final judgment on the merits in a prior suit; (2) an identity of the cause of action in both the earlier and the later suit; and (3) an identity of...
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