[2] During the appeals process, Herrick discovered a letter that supported his case, but could not introduce it at it had not been plead in the district court.

Later, Brent Taylor, a friend of Herrick with no participation in the previous case, filed an FOIA request for the same documents through the same lawyer.

The district and appellate courts held that Taylor was precluded from litigating the issue because he had been "virtually represented" in the prior case.

[3] Because Taylor and Herrick were seeking the same documents and were in fact trying to restore the same airplane, reasoned the lower courts, they were attempting to relitigate the issue.

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion for a unanimous court, overturning the decision below by the D.C.