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Note: To induce J.P. Morgan Chase (Issuer) to issue a standby letter of credit in favor of the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board (Beneficiary), Frank J. Andrews, Jr. and David J. Stroud (Sureties) gave their personal guarantees. When Beneficiary demanded payment under the standby, Sureties sued Issuer for a declaration that honoring the demand would be wrongful. Issuer moved to dismiss due to an ongoing state court proceeding. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Randa, J., denied the motion.

The Judge ruled that an abstention is not necessary since "the federal lawsuit involves distinct issues and completely different parties. It is not duplicative of the state court litigation. "The court reasoned that Aif the Court proceeds to judgment and declares that [Counter-Guarantor] are (or are not) liable to [Issuer], such a ruling would not interfere with the state court litigation because the [CounterGuarantor]'s liability to Issuer is not relevant to the state court litigation. "In addition, Athe parties to this litigation aren't even involved in the state court litigation."

[JEB/jds]

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