Opinion ID: 157370
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Applying the Colorado River Doctrine

Text: 34 Of Mr. Rienhardt's two claims which withstood analysis under the probate exception--(a) that the Kellys exerted undue influence on plaintiff's parents to prevent them from executing new wills more favorable to plaintiff, and (b) that the Kellys exerted undue influence on plaintiff's father to purchase the ranch--the latter is in some manner at issue in a similar state court proceeding. See Socorro County Dist. Ct. No. CV-93-101; Rienhardt v. Kelly, 121 N.M. 694, 917 P.2d 963 (N.M.Ct.App.1996). However, because the four factors enumerated by the Court in Colorado River do not strongly counsel against retaining jurisdiction, we cannot say the district court abused its discretion in refusing to abstain from hearing the case. Those four factors are: (1) simultaneous jurisdiction over a single res; (2) the relative convenience of the fora; (3) order in which proceedings were initiated; (4) the need to avoid piecemeal litigation. See Colorado River, 424 U.S. at 819, 96 S.Ct. 1236. 35 The two actions do not cause the two courts to assume simultaneous jurisdiction over a single res, because there is no res at issue in the federal action. Rather the federal action is one for damages resulting from tortious conduct. There is no contention that the federal forum was any less convenient to the parties than the state forum. The ... order in which jurisdiction was obtained by the concurrent forums--far from supporting the stay, actually counsel[s] against it. Moses H. Cone, 460 U.S. at 19, 103 S.Ct. 927. Although the state action was initiated prior to the federal action, Mr. Rienhardt was dismissed from that action as an excessive plaintiff. While he was later readmitted by the New Mexico Court of Appeals, see Rienhardt, 917 P.2d at 967, the federal suit was initiated in the interim. Thus, arguably the federal suit was initiated prior to Mr. Rienhardt's instant involvement in the state suit. Finally, the avoidance of piecemeal litigation may counsel against hearing the case in federal court, but this factor alone might be too insignificant in the district court's discretion to be considered the sort of exceptional circumstance in which a federal court is justified in refusing to exercise its jurisdiction. 36 The district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to dismiss or grant a stay, and retains jurisdiction over the remaining two allegations to conduct a new trial on remand.