PLAINTIFF STARTED AN ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT IN NEW YORK; THEN DEFENDANT STARTED AN ACTION AGAINST PLAINTIFF IN ROMANIA; THE RESULTS OF THE ROMANIAN ACTION MAY BE DISPOSITIVE IN THE NEW YORK ACTION; THE NEW YORK ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN STAYED PENDING THE OUTCOME OF THE ROMANIAN ACTION, EVEN THOUGH THE NEW YORK ACTION WAS COMMENCED FIRST (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Count, stayed the New York action pending the resolution of a related action brought by the defendant in Romania. the fact that the New York action was commenced first didn’t matter:
In March 2021, plaintiff brought this action to recover on a personal guaranty executed by defendant as consideration for a loan by plaintiff to two Romanian companies partly owned by defendant. Two months later, defendant brought suit against the instant plaintiff in Romania, seeking a declaration that the companies’ payment obligations under the underlying loan agreements were not enforceable.
… [T]he issues to be decided in the Romanian action are potentially dispositive of this action … . …
Although this action was filed first, chronology is not dispositive, “particularly where both actions are at the earliest stages of litigation” … . “[T]he practice of determining priorities between pending actions on the basis of dates of filing is a general rule, not to be applied in a mechanical way, regardless of other considerations” … . Here, both actions are in the early stages and were commenced reasonably close in time and the later-filed action is more “comprehensive” and involves more parties … . E D & F Man Sugar Ltd. v Gellert, 2022 NY Slip Op 00813, first Dept 2-8-22