Judicial estoppel

Judicial estoppel, also called estoppel by inconsistent positions, is a common law doctrine that bars a party from taking a legal position in a case that contradicts a position the same party successfully maintained and benefited from in an earlier legal proceeding. The doctrine only applies once the party has actually prevailed on the earlier position and gained some advantage from it, such as a favorable judgment or a dismissal; a party that merely argued a different position without succeeding on it is not barred from later taking an inconsistent one. Judicial estoppel is recognized in United States law but remains defined mainly through case law rather than through a codified statute or procedural rule, so its precise scope varies somewhat between jurisdictions. It arises most often in bankruptcy proceedings, where a former debtor who failed to disclose a legal claim as an asset on bankruptcy schedules is later barred from pursuing that same claim in separate litigation, since doing so would let the debtor benefit from a position, namely that the asset did not exist, that contradicts the debtor's later attempt to enforce it.