Neuchatel Swiss General Insurance Company, and Express Transports S.A. v. Lufthansa Airlines Deutsche Lufthansa A.G.

This appeal involves an ordinary commercial dispute over the loss of cargo consisting of a sealed carton of gold and jewels, which was transformed, as if by alchemy, into a bag of lead by the end of its international journey. The district court, relying upon Colorado River Water Conservation District v. United States, 424 U.S. 800 , 96 S.Ct. 1236 , 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976), entered an order staying the action pending the outcome of parallel judicial proceedings in Geneva, Switzerland. We reverse the stay order because of the absence of “exceptional circumstances” required by Colorado River to justify a district court’s refusal to exercise jurisdiction in deference to parallel proceedings in another jurisdiction.

In Colorado River, the Supreme Court restated the fundamental principle that absent “exceptional circumstances,” federal courts have an obligation to exercise their jurisdiction concurrently with other courts. Colorado River, 424 U.S. at 818 , 96 S.Ct. at 1246 . In Colorado River, the Court held that such “exceptional circumstances” existed when competing water rights in a single river system were being adjudicated in parallel federal and state actions. The Court gave two…