On Feb. 11, 2012, Lloyd Thomas shot and killed Joshua Rogers and Gilberto Alvarez while decedents were on the property owned by Lloyd’s father, Hayden Thomas. Lloyd subsequently was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter of Rogers and Alvarez. The jury found him guilty.
On March 5, 2012, the Rogers estate filed a wrongful death and survival action in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas against Lloyd, Hayden and the Outdoorsman. Following Lloyd’s criminal conviction, the Rogers estate moved for partial summary judgment against Lloyd. The trial court entered partial summary judgment against Lloyd and explained that by finding Lloyd guilty of voluntary manslaughter, the jury had found beyond a reasonable doubt that Lloyd had committed an intentional and unjustified killing—that is, Lloyd did not act in justifiable self-defense. The trial court thus found that the principles of collateral estoppel were applicable and barred Lloyd from relitigating intent in the Rogers civil action.