Fourth Circuit Stays MTBE Class Action As Parallel Case Proceeds in State Court

A federal district court was not required to exercise jurisdiction over a class action alleging MTBE contamination for which there is a similar proceeding pending in Maryland state court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held Aug. 7 (Ackerman v. ExxonMobil Corp., 4th Cir., No. 12-1103).

The parallel Maryland proceeding against ExxonMobil Corp. and a gas station operator has been under way for several years, Chief Judge William B. Traxler Jr. wrote for the appeals court panel.

The defendants asserted that the two claims were not parallel, challenging an amendment to the Maryland state court ...