State Prior Pending Action Statute Unavailable In Federal Cases

The State of Illinois enacted a statute that allows a defendant to move to dismiss if another action involving the same parties was filed first and is pending elsewhere. In AXA Corporate Solutions v. Underwriters Reinsurance Corp., No. 02-3795, 2003 WL 22359249 (7th Cir. Oct. 17, 2003), the district court applied that statute in a diversity case where the same parties were pursuing litigation in Texas state court, and dismissed the federal case.

However, clarifying a matter over which its district courts have split, the Seventh Circuit held that Illinois' statute is not available in federal court. Instead, federal courts rely on federally-developed abstention doctrines, such as the Colorado River doctrine, to determine whether it is appropriate to reject jurisdiction over matters filed before it. Here, the Seventh Circuit concluded that Colorado River abstention, which the U.S. Supreme Court cautions must be used only in "exceptional circumstances," would not be appropriate, and it reinstated the case.