Opinion ID: 613119
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Parallel Suits

Text: The final factor, and one that features prominently in this appeal, is whether the state court proceeding sufficiently parallels the federal proceeding. Although we have not always required exact parallelism, the two actions must be substantially similar. Nakash, 882 F.2d at 1416. We have held that `the existence of a substantial doubt as to whether the state proceedings will resolve the federal action precludes' a Colorado River stay or dismissal. Smith, 418 F.3d at 1033 (quoting Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 12 F.3d 908, 913 (9th Cir.1993)). As Street/National Union note, prior to the cases on appeal, there was doubt about whether the Vulcan Action would resolve Street/National Union's claims against Transport. No claims had been filed between Transport and Street/National Union, and the state court had expressly reserved the question of whether collateral estoppel would apply to these claims once the court entered a judgment concerning Vulcan's claims. See Intel Corp., 12 F.3d at 913 (concluding that there was no parallel proceeding where the state court proceeding would resolve all issues only if the state courts confirmed the arbitration award and collateral estoppel applied to all other claims based on that award). Nevertheless, even Street/National Union concede that the Removed Action will resolve all issues raised in the Federal Action. The question for us is whether the district court abused its discretion by considering the Removed Action in its Colorado River analysis. According to Street/National Union, the district court erred by considering the Removed Action because the action was not in state court at the time of the district court's decision. We disagree. Courts generally rely on the state of affairs at the time of the Colorado River analysis. See Moses H. Cone, 460 U.S. at 21-22, 103 S.Ct. 927 (considering the existence of a state court action that was filed after the federal court proceeding). We think this state of affairs includes the court's discretion to remand the Removed Action. To say that the district court could not consider the Removed Action because it was not pending in state court at the specific moment the court dismissed the Federal Action would be contrary to the Court's instruction that the Colorado River factors are to be applied in a pragmatic, flexible manner with a view to the realities of the case at hand. Id. at 20, 103 S.Ct. 927. It would also ignore the underlying purpose of the Colorado River doctrine. The Colorado River doctrine promotes wise judicial administration. Colorado River, 424 U.S. at 817, 96 S.Ct. 1236. We require a parallel suit to ensure comprehensive disposition of litigation. See id. Otherwise, a stay or dismissal will neither conserve judicial resources nor prevent duplicative litigation. For example, in Holder, we reversed a Colorado River stay because the plaintiff likely could not have brought his federal claim in the state court proceeding. 305 F.3d at 868-70. Similarly, in Intel Corp., we concluded that a stay is inappropriate when there is a good chance that the federal court would have to decide the case eventually because the state proceeding will not resolve all of the issues in the federal case. 12 F.3d at 913. Here, there is no question that with the Removed Action in state court, the state proceedings will resolve all issues, and the goal of comprehensive disposition of litigation will be met. Street/National Union compare this case to Kirkbride v. Continental Casualty Co., 933 F.2d 729 (9th Cir.1991), but the facts distinguish this case from Kirkbride. In Kirkbride, we held that Colorado River did not support the district court's remand of a case because there was no concurrent or pending state court proceeding when the appellees moved for remand since the entire case had been removed to federal court. Id. at 734. In Kirkbride, there was only one action, and the court relied on Colorado River to remand that action. Id. There was no equivalent of the Vulcan Action and therefore no concern about piecemeal adjudication. All related claims were in a single proceeding that would be completely resolved in either state or federal court. Id. As we noted above when examining the risk of piecemeal litigation, the Removed Action alone cannot justify dismissal of the Federal Action. Nevertheless, because other factors affirmatively support dismissal, we do not think it was improper for the court to consider its discretion to remand the Removed Action for the limited purpose of determining whether the Vulcan Action would resolve all claims between the parties. Like the source of law and the adequacy of state court proceedings, this factor may weigh in favor of jurisdiction, but it does not in itself weigh against it. Because the combined Vulcan Action and Removed Action would resolve all of the parties' claims, this factor does not bar dismissal. [10] Ultimately, the decision whether to dismiss a federal action because of parallel state-court litigation hinges on a careful balancing of the [relevant] factors ... with the balance heavily weighted in favor of the exercise of jurisdiction. Moses H. Cone, 460 U.S. at 16, 103 S.Ct. 927. Although Street/National Union's right to a federal forum for their unasserted claims weighs in favor of jurisdiction, we conclude that the district court did not err by declining jurisdiction over the Federal Action. None of the factors that would preclude a Colorado River stay or dismissal  issues of federal law, inadequacy of the state court forum, or a possibility that the state court proceeding will not resolve the dispute  are concerns in this case. Because the avoidance of piecemeal litigation and the progress made in the Vulcan Action strongly weigh against jurisdiction, we conclude that the district court did not err by dismissing the Federal Action as an exceptional case under Colorado River.