Nationwide Mutual Fire Ins. Co. v. George V. Hamilton, Inc., No. 08-4733

District court order granting defendant summary judgment and dismissing plaintiff's motion to compel arbitration is reversed and remanded where: 1) the kind of extraordinary circumstances warranting abstention by a federal court under the Colorado River doctrine are not present; and 2) the previous state court ruling does not collaterally estopp plaintiff from seeking to enforce the arbitration provision of its agreement with defendant, as plaintiff was a nonparty and did not otherwise have its interests represented before the state court, and the record does not show that the other party in the state action intended to or did adequately represent plaintiff's interests such that the two can be said to be in privity. 

Read Nationwide Mutual Fire Ins. Co. v. George V. Hamilton, Inc., No. 08-4733

Appellate Information
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Submitted: May 21, 2009
Filed: July 6, 2009

Judges
Before: FUENTES, JORDAN and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by JORDAN, Circuit Judge.

Counsel
For Appellant: Peter B. Skeel, Summers, McDonnell, Hudock, Guthrie & Skeel, LLP; Rolf E. Gilbertson, Eric E. Caugh, Christopher R. Paar, Kathryn M. Hoffman, Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP.

For Appellee: Frederick J. Francis, Joseph E. Linehan, Richard T. Victoria, Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP.