State courts are without power to restrain Federal court proceedings in in personam actions (Donovan v. City of Dallas, 377 U.S. 408, 412-413; see also, General Atomic Co. v. Felter, 434 U.S. 12, 17; General Atomic Co. v. Felter, 436 U.S. 493, 497; Cone Hosp. v. Mercury Constr. Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 21, n 24). We therefore vacate the injunction granted by the trial court, which was based upon a misperception of the breadth of the holding in Cone (supra), and violative of the Supremacy Clause of United States Constitution, article VI, § 2.
In addition, the trial court erred by not entertaining, and granting Merrill Lynch's application for a preliminary injunction (CPLR 7502 [c]; see, Blumenthal v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner Smith, 910 F.2d 1049), due to the likelihood of the respondent's success on the merits, given the nature of the employment and non-solicitation agreements, the waiver signed by the petitioner, and the prejudice which would flow from denying this relief.
Concur — Murphy, P.J., Sullivan, Rosenberger and Ross, JJ.