In the case of Avaya, Inc. v. Charter Communications Holding Company, LLC, et al., the Delaware Superior Court considered a forum dispute between competing actions filed on the same day—one in Delaware and the other in New Jersey. The Delaware Plaintiff filed electronically at 12:01 a.m., while the New Jersey Plaintiff filed several hours later when the New Jersey Court opened. The New Jersey Court initially dismissed its case, holding that the Delaware Action was first filed and that the parties could obtain adequate relief in Delaware. However, the New Jersey Court subsequently reconsidered its decision and held that, under New Jersey law, the New Jersey Action was the first filed action. Following the subsequent New Jersey ruling, the Delaware Defendant moved to dismiss or stay the Delaware action in favor of the New Jersey action. Rather than undertaking a McWane analysis, the Delaware Court stayed the Delaware Action based upon the doctrine of comity, which applies when two courts have concurrent jurisdiction over the same matter:
The doctrine is not a legal rule but an expression of one state's entirely voluntary decision to defer to the policy of another, especially in the face of a strong assertion of interest by the other jurisdiction. A court may use its discretion to stay a matter if the same matter is pending in a different court because a court should not assume to disturb another court's disposition of a controversy unless there are good reasons for doing so.
In deciding to stay the Delaware Action, the Court found that the New Jersey Court has already decided that the New Jersey Action is the first filed action and that the matter should proceed in New Jersey. Relying on recent Delaware Supreme Court precedent, the Court held that the doctrine of comity is important and courts should try to avoid issuing conflicting rulings on the same issue.
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