Opinion ID: 483528
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other Grounds for Dismissal Cited by the Government

Text: 19 The Government also relies on two other doctrines to support its view that the civil action should be dismissed. First, it cites Kerotest Manufacturing Co. v. C-O-Two Fire Equipment Co. 17 Kerotest raised the question of whether an action brought in one district court could be dismissed if the same issue was being litigated in another district court between the same parties. C-O-Two brought a patent infringement action in the Northern District of Illinois against a customer of Kerotest. Thereafter, Kerotest brought a proceeding against C-O-Two in Delaware district court seeking a declaration that the patents sued on in the Illinois action were invalid. C-O-Two then joined Kerotest as a defendant in the Illinois action and sought to stay the Delaware action. The Supreme Court held that the Third Circuit did not abuse its discretion in staying the Delaware proceedings. 20 To the extent that Kerotest has any application here, it supports upholding the District Court's decision. As the Supreme Court noted: 21 The factors relevant to wise administration here are equitable in nature. Necessarily, an ample degree of discretion, appropriate for disciplined and experienced judges, must be left to the lower courts.... Even if we had more doubts than we do about the analysis made by the Court of Appeals, we would not feel justified in displacing its judgment with ours. 18 22 Similarly, we must view the District Court's decision here under an abuse of discretion standard. 19 We do not see any abuse of discretion. Indeed, given the difference in the relief to be afforded in the civil case as compared with the criminal case, and the lack of identity of parties, we think that the equities weighed in favor of hearing the civil action. Unlike in Kerotest, where the interest of all the parties could be accommodated in the Illinois action, the nature of the relief sought in the civil action here is such that the criminal action could not afford the civil plaintiffs the relief that they sought. 23 The Government also identifies several cases purporting to postpone civil adjudication pending developments in a criminal prosecution. The cases do not support the Government's position. 20 Contrary to the position of the Government, we see a consistent pattern in these cases that favors the decision reached below. First, these cases recognize that whether to exercise a court's equitable powers is a matter for the trial judge's discretion. Second, traditional equity concepts govern that decision. Here, the district judge determined that an adequate remedy did not exist at law, and, if the plaintiffs in the civil action were correct in their assertion that the structures and parcels regulations were unlawful, they would suffer irreparable injury. The District Court judge did not abuse his discretion in reaching the merits in the civil action. 21