In a case of first impression, the Delaware Court of Chancery applied the McWane doctrine to dismiss a lawsuit filed by LG Electronics against a radio communications device manufacturer because the parties initiated arbitration before pursuing litigation in Delaware.
The Chancery Court had previously limited the McWane doctrine—a legal theory permitting the court to stay or dismiss litigation if a party files an action in Delaware after previously initiating an action in another jurisdiction—to other legal proceedings. In LG Electronics v. InterDigital Communications, an Aug. 20 opinion, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster applied McWane to an arbitration proceeding filed before a Chancery Court lawsuit. The doctrine was established by the Delaware Supreme Court in McWane Cast Iron Pipe v. McDowell-Wellman Engineering, a 1970 decision.
