Decision 1949H – Trustees of the California State University

Judicial estoppel is an equitable doctrine, the application of which, even when all the elements have been satisfied, is discretionary. However, due to its potentially harsh consequences, judicial estoppel should be applied with caution and limited to egregious circumstances. Thus, it is an extraordinary remedy to be invoked when a party’s inconsistent behavior will otherwise result in a miscarriage of justice. To invoke the doctrine of equitable estoppel, the requesting party must show: (1) the same party has taken two positions; (2) the party was successful in asserting the first position; (3) the two positions are totally inconsistent; (4) the positions were taken in judicial or quasi-judicial administrative proceedings, and (5) the first position was not taken as a result of ignorance, fraud, or mistake.

Judicial estoppel applies to prevent a party from asserting to a California Superior Court that a judgment has been satisfied and later complaining to PERB that the satisfaction of judgment did not comply with the order of the arbitrator.