§ 12.18 Venue - Federal Court - First-filed Rule

• Library: Guide to South Carolina Liability and Property Insurance Law (SCBar) (2019 Ed.)

§ 12.18 Venue - Federal Court - First-Filed Rule

The federal district court has explained that "[g]enerally, a case pending in federal court 'may be dismissed for reasons of wise judicial administration whenever it is duplicative of a parallel action already pending in another federal court.'"¹³⁷ Further, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has stated that "'[s]uits are parallel if substantially the same parties litigate substantially the same issues in different forums.'"¹³⁸ In addressing the first-filed rule, the district court explained:

The Fourth Circuit recognizes the "first-filed" rule, which gives priority to the first suit filed absent a balance of convenience favoring the second filed. Ellicott Mach Corp. v. Modern Welding Co., Inc., 502 F.2d 178, 180 n.2, 181 (4th Cir. 1974) (finding that the first-to-file principle is "a rule of sound judicial administration"); see also Learning Network, Inc. v. Disc. Comm., Inc., 11 Fed. App'x 297 (4th Cir. 2001) (same); Nall v. Piper, 948 F.2d 1282 (4th Cir. 1991) (unpublished) (same). The Fourth Circuit has yet to recognize a "special circumstances" exception to the first[-]to[-]file rule. Learning Network, 11 Fed. App'x, at

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