UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
CALAF V. CALAF, 232 U. S. 371 (1914)
232 U. S. 371U.S. Supreme Court
Calaf v. Calaf, 232 U.S. 371 (1914)
Calaf v. Calaf
No.199
Argued January 26, 1914
Decided February 24, 1914
232 U.S. 371
Syllabus
While under the laws of Toro, parol acts, although not amounting to a solemn recognition, may have entitled a natural child to sue in Porto Rico for a share of the parent's inheritance and prove the acts in the same suit, the existing Code requires a preliminary proceeding to prove those acts and to declare their effect, and limits the time within which such proceeding can be brought. Cordova v. Folueras, 227 U. S. 375.
A judgment or decree bars all grounds for the relief sought and, as res judicata, it is a bar to a subsequent suit between the same parties the object of which is to reach the same result by different means.
Whether the judgment in a former suit between the same parties was or was not final is a question of local practice upon which this Court follows the local court unless strong reasons are produced against it.
17 P.R. 185 affirmed.
The facts, which involve the construction of the laws of Porto Rico relating to the recognition as heirs of natural children, are stated in the opinion. clubjuris