What is proper legal term(s) for when a case has already been filed in one court and then filed in another?

Question

What are the proper legal term (phase) for when a matter is filed in one court and then a defendant files in another court on the same matter (not appellate).
Plaintiff files deflective product suit in Fed. Ct. One of the defendants hire another lawyer to file collection suit in different county in different court. Besides being a violation of the fair credit act, and abuse of process, what other legal phrase covers it and it being tabboo?

Answer 1

There isn't really a good legal term, assuming that you mean two suits that are exactly (or nearly exactly) the same. It violates the "first filed" rule (which basically says that where two forums are appropriate, the one in which the first case was filed is where the case will be litigated), and is defendant's attempt to go "forum shopping" (i.e. litigate the case in a state and in a court that he likes, rather than the one the real plaintiff in interest, you, likes). It's also simply not in good faith. It's not a violation of the fair credit act to file a case, and it might be an "abuse of process" in a rhetorical sense, but probably not enough to state an actual legal claim for "abuse of process.

Answer 2

This is a case of 2 different suits . One is a simple collection suit, probably in a lower court. The defective product suit is as you say in a Fed. Ct. Neither case would impinge on the other. If the plaintiff wins the judge would also return the cost of the product and other costs which is in the plaintiffs charge.

Answer 3

I'm not sure there is a proper "legal term" for that. I assume that the 2nd suit was brought in a state court and not a federal court. The first question would involve whether the 2nd action was a compulsory counterclaim to the 1st. If not, there would exist a question regarding whether there was federal jurisdiction to hear the collection suit. Although you state that the actions are on the same matter, they really are not. It appears that the 1st is a products liability suit and the second a collection suit on a debt. Although they may involve the same product they are really not the same matter. If there is jurisdiction, you can remove the 2nd suit to federal court and move to consolidate the matters, assuming your time to do so has not expired.