Lawyers Title Ins. Corp. v. Superior Court

Petitioner (hereafter Lawyers Title) seeks a writ of prohibition to restrain respondent court from continuing with the adjudication of an action while there is another prior case pending.

On September 8, 1982, Lawyers Title filed an action in San Francisco Superior Court seeking a declaration of its liability to the defendants as escrow holder and title insurer of two lots of commercial real property in San Francisco. On January 6, 1983, certain of the defendants in the San Francisco action filed a complaint for damages in Santa Clara against Lawyers Title and against R. Wayne Moles and Gerald Vanoli who were defendants in the San Francisco action. On January 5, the plaintiffs in the Santa Clara action had appeared in the San Francisco action by answering the complaint for declaratory relief.

On March 31, 1983, Lawyers Title filed an answer in the Santa Clara action alleging as a first affirmative defense that the action should be abated due to the pendency of the prior San Francisco action. On May 20, 1983, Lawyers Title noticed a “Motion for Summary Judgment and Order of Abatement.” The motion was accompanied by a request that the Santa Clara court take judicial…