Opinion ID: 478360
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Dismissal of the State Claims

Text: 72 Finally, we reject Mayer's argument that the district court was required to rule on her pendent state law claims. [P]endent jurisdiction is a doctrine of discretion, not of plaintiff's right. United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 726, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 1139, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966). The decision whether to exercise pendent jurisdiction lies uniquely in the discretion of the district court, Falls Riverway Realty, Inc. v. City of Niagara Falls, 732 F.2d 38, 42 (2d Cir.1984), and we will not reverse a district court's decision to decline pendent jurisdiction absent an abuse of discretion, see Rogers v. Valentine, 426 F.2d 1361, 1363 (2d Cir.1970), especially when the federal claims in a case are dismissed before trial, see Gibbs, 383 U.S. at 726, 86 S.Ct. at 1139; McLearn v. Cowen & Co., 660 F.2d 845, 850 (2d Cir.1981) (Lasker, J., concurring); Kavit v. A.L. Stamm & Co., 491 F.2d 1176, 1180 & n. 4 (2d Cir.1974). 73 We find no abuse of discretion here. Pretrial preparation has apparently been devoted almost exclusively to the federal disclosure and fraud claims. The content and extent of fiduciary duties are fundamental issues of state law, see Santa Fe Industries, Inc. v. Green, 430 U.S. 462, 478-79, 97 S.Ct. 1292, 1303-04, 51 L.Ed.2d 480 (1977), and we decline to reverse a district court for refusing to use pendent jurisdiction to reach out for such issues, thereby depriving state courts of opportunities to develop and apply state law in this area, when, as here, a plaintiff's federal claims are without sufficient merit to require a trial. 74 We note that New York law allows Mayer to refile her state law fiduciary duty claim in a state court within six months of this decision, see N.Y.C.P.L.R. Sec. 205 (McKinney's Supp.1986), and to the extent that the discovery conducted in the present suit has a bearing on the state issues, it would likely reduce the parties' discovery needs in the state court action.