ABSTENTION

abstention. 1. The act of withholding or keeping back (something or oneself); esp.,

the
withholding of a vote. 2. A federal court's relinquishment of jurisdiction when
necessary to avoid needless conflict with a state's administration of its own
affairs. 3. The legal principle underlying such a relinquishment of jurisdiction. Cf.
COMITY; OUR FEDERALISM. [Cases: Federal Courts 4165. C.J.S. Bankruptcy 16, 40.]
Burford abstention. A federal court's refusal to review a state court's decision in cases
involving a complex regulatory scheme and sensitive areas of state concern. Burford v.
Sun Oil Co., 319 U.S. 315, 63 S.Ct. 1098 (1943).
Colorado River abstention. A federal court's decision to abstain while relevant
and parallel state-court proceedings are underway. Colorado River Water
Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 96 S.Ct. 1236 (1976).
equitable abstention. A federal court's refraining from interfering with a state
administrative agency's decision on a local matter when the aggrieved party has
adequate relief in the state courts.
permissive abstention. Abstention that a bankruptcy court can, but need not, exercise in
a
dispute that relates to the bankruptcy estate but that can be litigated, or is being
litigated, in another forum. In deciding whether to abstain, the bankruptcy court must
consider (1) the degree to which state law governs the case, (2) the appropriateness of
the procedure to be followed in the other forum, (3) the remoteness of the dispute to
the issues in the bankruptcy case, and (4) the presence of nondebtor parties in the
dispute. 28 USCA 1334(c)(1). [Cases: Federal Courts 47.5.]