Magistrate Judge Finds Insurer’s Attempted Procedural Fencing Warrants Abstention

Mealey's (May 26, 2016, 11:28 AM EDT) -- BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A federal magistrate judge in Alabama on May 23 dismissed without prejudice Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Co.’s declaratory judgment action over its denial of a fire loss claim, ruling that the insurer attempted to engage in procedural fencing by filing suit after learning of the defendants’ intent to pursue a parallel action in state court (Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Donald E. Butler, et al., No. 15-cv-01244-JEO, N.D. Ala.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66553)....