Illinois Central Railroad Company v. Harried
Filing
335
ORDER denying 325 Motion for Permanent Injunction; denying 325 Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Signed by Honorable David C. Bramlette, III on 8/15/2011 (ECW)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
WESTERN DIVISION
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
VS.
PLAINTIFF
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:06-cv-160(DCB)(JMR)
WILLIE R. HARRIED, WARREN R. TURNER,
WILLIAM S. GUY and THOMAS W. BROCK
DEFENDANTS
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This cause is before the Court on the plaintiff’s motion for
preliminary and permanent injunction (docket entry 325).
Having
carefully considered the motion and response, the memoranda and the
applicable law, and being fully advised in the premises, the Court
finds as follows:
The plaintiff’s motion, brought pursuant to the All Writs Act,
28 U.S.C. § 1651(a), seeks an injunction against Willie Harried,
Harried’s wife Joyce Harried, Harried’s counsel Wayne Dowdy, and
Dowdy’s law firm Dowdy & Cockerham, ordering them to dismiss a
lawsuit against Illinois Central Railroad Company, styled Harried
v. Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy, et al., No. 251-11-54 CIV,
in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, Mississippi. Inasmuch as the
state court action was removed to the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division, on
February 18, 2011, the plaintiff’s motion seeking dismissal of the
state court action is moot.
On July 12, 2011, U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee dismissed
defendants Forman, Perry, Watkins, Krutz & Tardy, LLP, and Daniel
J. Mulholland from the Jackson Division suit.
Harried v. Forman
Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy, et al., No. 3:11-CV-102, docket entry
19.
On July 25, 2011, the sole remaining defendant, Illinois
Central, filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings or, in the
alternative, for summary judgment, based on, inter alia, collateral
estoppel and res judicata.
A
federal
court
has
the
power
to
enjoin
a
party
from
attempting to relitigate the same or related issues precluded by
the principles of res judicata and collateral estoppel in another
federal court.
New York Life Ins. Co. v. Deshotel, 142 F.3d 873,
879 (5th Cir. 1998).
However, “[t]he powers conferred on a federal
court under the All Writs Act must be exercised with caution and
restraint.” Peters v. Brants Grocery, 990 F.Supp. 1337, 1342 (M.D.
Ala. 1998).
F.3d
1117,
See also
1132
Alabama v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 424
(11th
Cir.
2005)(All
Writs
Act
confers
“extraordinary powers” that are “firmly circumscribed”).
The mere
fact that litigation involving the same issues is pending in
another
forum
does
not
sufficiently
threaten
the
Court’s
jurisdiction to warrant an injunction under the All Writs Act.
Klay v. United Healthgroup, 376 F.3d 1092, 1103 (11th Cir. 2004).
Injunctions under the All Writs Act may only issue if adequate
remedies at law are unavailable.
Alabama, 424 F.3d at 1132.
“Generally, if a party will have an opportunity to raise its claims
in the concurrent federal proceeding ... the concurrent proceeding
2
is deemed to provide an adequate remedy at law.”
Id.
Because the
issues of collateral estoppel and res judicata are pending before
Judge Lee, the Court finds that adequate remedies at law are
available to the plaintiff.
Further, based on considerations of
comity and the orderly administration of justice, the Court finds
that it should defer to the judgment of its sister court.
“When an
injunction sought in one federal proceeding would interfere with
another federal proceeding, considerations of comity require more
than the usual measure of restraint, and such injunctions should be
granted only in the most unusual cases.”
Bergh v. State of
Washington, 535 F.2d 505, 507 (9th Cir. 1976).
motion shall therefore be denied.
IT
IS
HEREBY
ORDERED
that
The plaintiff’s
Accordingly,
the
plaintiff’s
motion
for
preliminary and permanent injunction (docket entry 325) is denied.
SO ORDERED, this the 15th day of August, 2011.
/s/ David Bramlette
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
3
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