Federal District Court Grants Motion To Stay In Non-Compete Matter

A federal district court in Oregon recently granted a motion to stay in a dual-state non-compete matter based on the first-to-file rule, even though the two cases were filed only a few hours apart. The first-to-file rule provides that, when similar cases have been filed in different federal district courts, it is within the court’s discretion to dismiss the second filed action when it involves the same parties and issues.

In Biotronik, Inc. v. Guidance Sales Corp., 2009 WL 1838322 (D. Or. Jun. 22, 2009), Judge King of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon granted Guidance Sales Corporation’s (“GSC”) motion to stay against GSC’s competitor, Biotronik, Inc (“Biotronik”). The court granted the motion to stay based on the first-to-file rule.  Id. at *3. 

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