Garibian Law (Antranig Garibian) succeeded in halting a lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court involving a contentious multimillion dollar real estate dispute.
Byana LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, was formed to invest in real estate in North Carolina. Byana filed suit in Delaware against Garibian Law’s client, an LLC member, for allegedly breaching Byana’s operating agreement. At the time of its Delaware filing, Byana had already sued the same individual in North Carolina, alleging essentially identical claims.
Garibian Law argued that the lawsuit in the Delaware action was redundant and should be put on hold pending the results of the North Carolina case. The motion further argued that it was unfair for the defendant to defend the same case in two different states and that the Delaware action was meant to harass the defendant and force her to incur unnecessary legal costs. Byana opposed the motion, arguing that even though the lawsuits were similar, the operating agreement required that the Delaware claims go forward.
Chancellor Bouchard agreed with Garibian Law and granted the motion to stay the Delaware action, citing concerns of judicial economy. Chancellor Bouchard further noted the risk that there would be inconsistent rulings in Delaware and North Carolina on the same issues if the cases were allowed to proceed at the same time. As a result, the litigation in Delaware has been put on hold and after the North Carolina case has concluded, the Court will examine whether there is any need for the Delaware action to proceed.