Larry Inman v. Cindy Craven Inman

This appeal stems from a lawsuit over a void marriage. Larry Inman (“Plaintiff”) sued
Cindy Craven Inman (“Defendant”) for divorce in the Circuit Court for Shelby County
(“the Circuit Court”). However, it emerged during the lawsuit that Defendant never
divorced her previous spouse. The Circuit Court entered an agreed final order holding that
the parties’ marriage was void and dismissing the complaint. Plaintiff later sued Defendant
in the Chancery Court for Shelby County (“the Trial Court”) asserting various causes of
action stemming from his being misled into believing he was married. Defendant filed a
motion to dismiss, which the Trial Court granted on res judicata grounds. Plaintiff appeals.
Plaintiff could have asserted his claims in the previous divorce lawsuit, but he did not.
Thus, the doctrine of res judicata bars Plaintiff’s claims. We affirm.