Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp.
United States Supreme Court
544 U.S. 280 (2005)
Exxon Mobil subsidiaries (plaintiff) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SBIC) (defendant) disputed royalties under joint-venture agreements. SBIC sued first in Delaware state court; two weeks later, the subsidiaries sued SBIC in federal court in New Jersey and also raised identical counterclaims in the state action. After a state-court jury awarded the subsidiaries $400 million, and SBIC's earlier motion to dismiss the federal suit had already been denied and was on interlocutory appeal, the court of appeals -- ruling only after the state case ended -- dismissed the federal claims under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
Whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine prevents a party from litigating the same issue in state and federal court concurrently, before one court reaches a final disposition.