In North Carolina the answer appears to be: Yes.
The NC Court of Appeals recently decided the case of Fox v. Johnson, a case stemming from claims of malicious prosecution. The claim was initially filed in federal court but then dismissed per Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The same claim was then brought in NC state court. Defendant moved to dismiss under the NC Rules of Civil Procedure. The NC Court of Appeals, held that since the 12(b)(6) standards are different in federal and NC state court (notice pleading in NC) then collateral estoppel didn’t apply to bar the state claim.
Of note, the NC COA didn’t address whether the action was sufficiently pled – just that it wasn’t barred under the doctrine of collateral estoppel.
