The Proposed Hague Convention on Parallel Proceedings: A Role for Anti-Suit Injunctions?
Given the difficulties that parallel proceedings create in transnational litigation, there have been repeated attempts to design a multilateral framework to resolve them. A new effort at legal reform is currently underway at the Hague Conference on Private International Law, where a working group has published a draft text of a convention on parallel proceedings…
Continue ReadingW.D. Texas Asserts the Exclusivity of U.S. Jurisdiction in Patent Cases
Patent disputes often create jurisdictional conflict. A lot of attention recently has been focused on complex and policy-laden litigation involving standard essential patents, but garden-variety infringement claims can lead to challenges too. A federal court in Texas recently issued an anti-suit injunction blocking parallel litigation in China in such a claim. Its order asserted that…
Continue ReadingEletson v. Levona: SDNY Vacates Arbitral Award but Declines to Issue Anti-Enforcement Injunction
An arbitral award that has been vacated by a court at the seat of arbitration can almost never be enforced in other states. But the authority to determine post-vacatur enforceability rests with courts in states where enforcement is sought, not with the vacating court. In a cogent and well-reasoned opinion issued last week, Judge Lewis…
Continue ReadingGreenpeace Anti-SLAPP Suit Blocked by International Antisuit Injunction
In 2019, Energy Transfer, the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline, sued Greenpeace International, a Dutch foundation, in North Dakota state court. Last year, Greenpeace responded with an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) lawsuit against Energy Transfer in Dutch court. In the latest twist in this lengthy dispute, the North Dakota Supreme Court issued…
Continue ReadingThe Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act
In June 2020, Russia enacted the so-called Lugovoy Law, Article 248.1 of the Russian Arbitrazh Procedural Code, which allows Russian courts to assume exclusive jurisdiction over sanctioned persons, ignoring contractual choice-of-court and arbitration clauses. Article 248.2 authorizes anti-suit and anti-arbitration injunctions by Russian courts to enforce that exclusive jurisdiction. Article 248 has been invoked repeatedly in…
Continue ReadingWaco Judge Enjoins Litigation of U.S. Patents in Germany
Judge Alan D Albright (Western District of Texas) loves patent cases. Before his appointment as a district judge in 2018, he was a patent litigator. After his appointment, he “went on a media blitz, letting everyone know that his court would welcome patent litigation.” As detailed here, Judge Albright adopted standing orders that promised speedy…
Continue ReadingDistrict Court Grants Air Senegal Motion to Stay Parallel Suit
Sometimes you have to choose one court. In SASOF III (A2) Aviation Ireland DAC v. Air Senegal S.A., the plaintiffs, airline leasing companies, sued Air Senegal for non-payment of rent in Dakar, Senegal. Three months later, the plaintiffs filed a substantially similar suit in New York. On January 30, 2026, Magistrate Judge Stewart Aaron stayed…
Continue ReadingA Primer on Antisuit Injunctions
The antisuit injunction, which blocks a party from initiating or pursuing litigation in a foreign court, is a powerful tool in the judicial arsenal. Courts issue these injunctions, under appropriate circumstances, to prevent the development of parallel proceedings. They can also be used to prevent a party from taking action in a foreign forum intended…
Continue ReadingConsultation on the Hague Conference Project on Parallel Proceedings and Related Actions
International lawyers and their associations have the opportunity to contribute to work at the Hague Conference on Private International Law designed to address problems that arise when the same or similar case has been filed in courts in multiple states. The Hague Conference has developed a Consultation Paper and a dedicated webpage providing information about…
Continue ReadingCivil Contempt Orders Against Non-Parties in Parallel Proceedings
Among the challenges U.S. courts face in managing parallel litigation is enforcing any anti-suit injunctions they might order. In this regard, one of the most important enforcement tools they have at their disposal is the power to impose contempt sanctions in response to violations of their orders. The authority of a court to hold the…
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