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<i>Wilton /Brillhart</i> Abstention Update

While it is not unusual for federal courts to apply the <I>Wilton/Brillhar</I>t abstention doctrine in response to a party motion, a recent case is remarkable because not only did the district court dismiss the case on its own motion, it did so fully a year after removal, with no parallel state court action pending and after the magistrate judge had issued a 39-page report recommending that the coverage question be answered in the insurer's favor.

29 minute read August 02, 2014 at 12:00 AM
By
William P. Shelley, Jacob C. Cohn and Andrew C. Lucking
<i>Wilton /Brillhart</i> Abstention Update

In Reifer v. Westport Ins. Corp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 8014 (3d Cir. Pa. Apr. 29, 2014), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court's decision to abstain from deciding, and remanded back to state court, an insurance coverage declaratory judgment action.

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