Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc. · ¶34

The Court’s opinion correctly concludes that the Fifth Circuit’s approach to judicial estoppel is not defensible on its own terms. I join it in full. I write separately to express doubt about the foundation of the doctrine of judicial estoppel. Judicial estoppel generally prevents a party from asserting a position in one lawsuit that contradicts its position in a previous proceeding. Lower federal courts have applied this doctrine broadly without clear authority to do so, and with only limited support from this Court’s precedents. In a future case, we should reexamine it.

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