actually litigated
actually litigated. (Of a claim that might be barred by collateral estoppel) properly raised in an earlier lawsuit, submitted to the court for a determination, and determined. • A party is barred by the doctrine of collateral es-toppel from relitigating an issue that was actually litigated — usu. including by summary judgment but not nec-essarily by default judgment — in an earlier suit involving the same parties, even if that suit involved different claims. Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 27 cmt. d (1980). [Cases: Judgment 720. C.J.S. Judgments §§ 757, 803, 813.]