Neill v. Ford Motor Company

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _______________ m 00-41264 _______________ JAMES PALMER NEILL, III, et al., Plaintiffs, JAMES PALMER NEILL, III; JODY AYKE; MARC ANDREW BIRENBAUM; WILLIAM BUTLER; CHERYL BUTLER; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, VERSUS FORD MOTOR COMPANY; DAVID J. BICKERSTAFF; DAVID J. BICKERSTAFF AND ASSOCIATES, INCORPORATED, Defendants-Appellees. _________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas m 5:99-CV-106 _________________________ November 13, 2001 Before SMITH and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges, and CUMMINGS,* District Judge. PER CURIAM:** Plaintiffs bring an action they describe as fraud in the inducement of various settlement agreements regarding litigation in state courts. They appeal the district court’s dismissal, which was based on considerations of comity and the Anti-Injunction Act. We have reviewed the briefs and applicable portions of the record and have heard the arguments of counsel. We conclude that the dis- trict court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing. Accordingly, we affirm, without prejudice to the plaintiffs’ right to file bills of review in the respective state courts. See Dubroff v. Dubroff, 883 F.3d 557 (5th Cir. 1987). AFFIRMED. * District Judge of the Northern District of Texas, sitting by designation. ** Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. 2