Freed v. J.P. Morgan Bank N.A.

Dist. Ct. did not err in staying on abstention grounds two federal causes of action in favor of plaintiff proceeding in related state court action alleging breach of fiduciary duties and breach of partnership agreement, where plaintiff alleged that defendants removed funds from partnership that belonged to plaintiff and placed said funds into accounts controlled by defendants. All three causes of action, which had been filed by plaintiff, were sufficiently parallel, where interests of defendants in all three actions were nearly identical and concerned plaintiff’s claim that defendants either breached partnership agreement or assisted others in said breach. Fact that one defendant in federal action was not included in state court action did not destroy parallel nature of subject lawsuits. Moreover, nine out of ten Colorado River factors supported instant stay of federal action to avoid, among other things, piecemeal litigation.