Semmes Motors, Inc. v. Ford Motor Company
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
429 F.2d 1197 (1970)
After Ford (defendant) announced it would audit Semmes Motors' (plaintiff) warranty-claim records — which Semmes's president believed was retaliation for his advocacy work with a Ford-dealer rights group — Semmes and that group sued Ford in New Jersey state court to block Ford from contacting customers; Ford removed to federal court, where a restraining order was denied, and Ford's audit then revealed extensive warranty-reporting fraud. Semmes filed a second, substantially identical suit in the Southern District of New York; Ford then counterclaimed in the New Jersey action for the fraudulent warranty refunds and terminated Semmes's dealership, prompting Semmes to amend its New York complaint to add a wrongful-termination claim. The Southern District granted Semmes a restraining order and declined to stay its case pending the New Jersey action; Ford appealed.
Whether, if a plaintiff files two substantially identical lawsuits against the same defendant in different venues, the first suit should be given priority.