Equitable Abstention Law and Legal Definition
Equitable abstention means a federal court’s decision to abstain from interfering with a state administrative agency’s decision on a local matter when adequate relief in the state courts is available to the aggrieved party. It is usually applied only when equitable remedies such as injunction or restitution are sought. It seeks to preserve the delicacy of the adjustment to be preserved between federal equitable power and state administration of its own law.
