Opinion ID: 1289417
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Dismissal of 05-cv-1702

Text: As part of its general power to administer its docket, a district court may stay or dismiss a suit that is duplicative of another federal court suit. See Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 817, 96 S.Ct. 1236, 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976). The dismissal of a complaint based on the exercise of this power is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See Curtis v. Citibank, N.A., 226 F.3d 133, 138 (2d Cir.2000). Without the benefit of briefing on the subject, the trial court found with minimal discussion that the complaint appears to be largely duplicative of earlier complaints. August 5 Order at 8 (emphasis added). In a footnote, the district court recognized that it did not conduct an exhaustive comparison of the seven complaints. August 5 Order at 7 n. 6. While the district court was not required to conduct an exhaustive comparison before dismissing 05-cv-1702, it should have undertaken a more thorough review to determine if these claims were based on a common nucleus of operative facts. See, e.g., Waldman v. Village of Kiryas Joel, 207 F.3d 105, 113 (2d Cir.2000). Complaint 05-cv-1702 challenges new City regulations that New/Best could not have challenged before. When new allegations are not obviously barred by claim preclusion, plaintiffs are entitled to process, even if a motion for leave to amend has been denied. Curtis, 226 F.3d at 136, 140. Furthermore, while the district court stated that it would take New/Best's requests to amend their complaints into consideration, this is not adequate to ensure that the statute of limitations will be tolled and their claims will be preserved. Under these circumstances, we cannot affirm the district court's sua sponte dismissal. [1] There are other mechanisms the district court can employ to achieve judicial efficiency and still preserve New/Best's rights. The district court need not conduct a line by line comparison of 05-cv-1702 to excise the duplicative claims; it can order the plaintiffs to do so or face sanction. It can also order further briefing on the issue of whether the new claims are indeed based on the same nucleus of operative facts. Waldman, 207 F.3d at 113. The court also has the authority to defer analysis on the merits of these claims until the pending motions to dismiss are resolved. For example, it could simply stay the 05-cv-1702 action, or it could dismiss it without prejudice so long as it also ordered the statute of limitations tolled. Accordingly, we VACATE the portion of the August 5 Order dismissing 05-cv-1702 and REMAND to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this order.