Opinion ID: 4150047
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The District Court’s Denial of Leave

Text: Duran also challenges the district court’s denial of leave to file a motion to partially vacate the stay of state court proceedings or, in the alternative, to enjoin the Republic from litigating in its home forum. “The district court has wide discretion in determining whether to grant a preliminary injunction, and this Court reviews [its] determination only for abuse of discretion.” Almontaser v. N.Y. City Dep’t of Educ., 519 F.3d 505, 508 (2d Cir. 2008) (per curiam) (alteration in original). The same standard applies to modification of an injunction. See Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, 732 F.2d 253, 257 (2d Cir. 1984). The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Duran leave to file a motion to partially vacating the stay of state court proceedings. All of the arguments Duran raised in support of his proposed modification of the stay were considered by the district court in its initial decision. And, notably, the September 2014 litigation that Duran cites as justifying his request to modify the stay preceded the district court’s February 2015 imposition of the stay. Because Duran’s modification arguments were already considered in “the underlying [February 2015] order” and he did not present any “new matter” or changed circumstances justifying a modification, Sierra On-Line, Inc. v. Phoenix Software, Inc., 739 F.2d 1415, 1419 n.4 (9th Cir. 1984), he provides no basis for us to conclude that the district court abused its discretion in denying him leave to file a motion to partially vacate the stay. Likewise, the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Duran leave to file a motion to enjoin the Republic from litigating in the Philippines. Foreign anti-suit injunctions are assessed under the China Trade test. See Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft v. U.S. Oil Trading LLC, 814 F.3d 146, 154-55 (citing China Trade & Dev. Corp. v. M.V. Choong Yong, 837 F.2d 33, 35 (2d Cir. 1987)). Duran’s letter motion to the district court did not mention the China 7 Trade test or endeavor to explain why enjoining the Republic, a sovereign nation, from litigating in its home forum would be warranted under that test. As a result, the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Duran leave to file a motion for a foreign anti-suit injunction against the Republic. We have considered all of Duran’s remaining arguments and find them to be without merit. For the reasons given, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court. FOR THE COURT: Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe, Clerk 8