Magistrate Says Court Should Abstain From Hearing Insurer’s Duty To Defend Suit

(May 15, 2021, 8:20 AM EDT) -- MOBILE, Ala. — A federal magistrate judge in Alabama on April 29 recommended dismissing without prejudice an insurer’s declaratory judgment suit seeking an order saying it has no duty to defend or indemnify a contractor in a state court suit accusing it of defective deck work at a conference center, finding that the federal court should abstain from jurisdiction over the suit because the state court action involves substantially the same parties and similar issues....