In the course of a lawsuit brought by several property owners alleging groundwater contamination by the City of Albany and its agent Sani-Agri Services, Inc., the City brought a cross-claim for contribution against Sani-Agri. Sani-Agri then filed a separate complaint against the City. After the entry of a consent judgment between the property owners and the City and a bench trial on the City’s cross-claim, the trial court denied that cross-claim. The City then moved for summary judgment on Sani-Agri’s complaint, which the trial court granted on res judicata grounds. We find no error and affirm. This case has its origins in a suit alleging that as a result of Sani-Agri’s improper disposal of sewage treatment sludge on certain properties, and the City’s failure to monitor that disposal, the nitrate levels of the properties’ groundwater increased. After the City asserted a cross-claim for contribution against the plaintiffs and Sani-Agri, a consent judgment was entered between the plaintiffs and the City. A few months later, the plaintiffs dismissed their suit against Sani-Agri without prejudice. After a bench trial, the trial court denied the City’s request for contribution, and this Court affirmed. See City of Albany v. Pippin , 269 Ga. App. 22 602 SE2d 911 2004.
Sani-Agri brought the present lawsuit in December 2000, shortly after the original plaintiffs dismissed their suit, but well before the bench trial on the City’s cross-claim. Sani-Agri’s complaint asserted that the City had breached the parties’ sludge disposal contract, that it had interfered with that contract, and that two of its employees had committed defamation when they suggested publicly that Sani-Agri had not been performing its responsibilities under the contract. Arguing res judicata, the City moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. On appeal, Sani-Agri argues that res judicata does not apply because its claims do not arise out of the same operative facts as the previous suit.
