Tag Archives: cafa

Federal Authorities Continue to Monitor Proposed Class Action Settlements

By Douglas A. Vonderhaar on April 18, 2018 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continue to scrutinize class settlements to ensure that neither defendants nor class action counsel are improperly benefiting at the expense of class members. As discussed below, at minimum, parties to class actions in federal court can expect federal authorities to increasingly monitor … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Narrows Already Slim Exception to Rule Barring Post-Removal Amendments to Avoid CAFA Jurisdiction

By Alexander Quimby on June 28, 2017 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

A plaintiff will rarely be permitted to amend its class action complaint after removal to avoid federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). That is the takeaway from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Broadway Grill, Inc. v. Visa Inc., 856 F.3d 1274 (9th Cir. 2017), which further narrowed the already … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Decision Clarifies Timing of Removal Under the Class Action Fairness Act

By BakerHostetler on April 8, 2016 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

Partner Greg Mersol of BakerHostetler’s Employment Class Action Blog published a blog post regarding a recent Sixth Circuit decision that clarified the timing of removal under the Class Action Fairness Act. As stated in the post, the bottom line is that the “time for CAFA removal runs from when the plaintiffs provide the defendant with … Continue Reading

District Court Refuses to Enjoin State From Pursuing Claims That Fell Within Terms of Prior Class Settlement Agreement and Release

By Alexander Quimby on February 10, 2016 Posted in Antitrust, Class Action Fairness Act, Class Certification

The court in In re Flonase Antitrust Litigation, No. 08-3301, 2015 WL 9273274 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 21, 2015) recently held that it could not enjoin the state of Louisiana from pursuing claims that, on their face, fell within the terms of an approved class settlement agreement and release. Even though Louisiana did not object or … Continue Reading

In “Zombie” Class Action, Seventh Circuit Requires Plaintiffs to Present Evidence to Prove Home-State Exception to CAFA Jurisdiction

By Patrick T. Lewis on August 22, 2014 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Class Certification

On Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit decided Myrick v. Wellpoint, Inc., Nos. 12-3882, 13-2230, 2014 WL 4073065 (Aug. 19, 2014), which held that plaintiffs were required to produce evidence—and not merely assumptions—about the citizenship of class members to establish the “home-state exception” to CAFA jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4). The case arose when a health insurer … Continue Reading

Supreme Court To Decide CAFA Pleading Standard

By Patrick T. Lewis on April 8, 2014 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Standing

On April 7th, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Company, LLC v. Owens, a case originating from the Tenth Circuit. In that case, the Court will resolve a circuit split over the pleading standard applicable to determining CAFA removal jurisdiction. The question presented is: Whether a defendant seeking removal to federal court … Continue Reading

Removal Evidence Need Not Be Perfect and Declaratory Relief Alone May Satisfy CAFA Amount-in-Controversy Requirement, says the Eleventh Circuit

By Andrew Samuels on February 19, 2014 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Insurance, Rule 23(b)(2) Class Actions

Answering a question left undecided in other circuits, the Eleventh Circuit held in South Florida Wellness, Inc. v. Allstate Insurance Co., No. 14-10001 (Feb. 14, 2014) that a complaint seeking only declaratory relief “can be up to the task” of satisfying the Class Action Fairness Act’s $5 million amount-in-controversy requirement. In an alleged class action … Continue Reading

SCOTUS: Mississippi AG Suit is not a Removable CAFA Mass Action

By Casie Collignon on January 14, 2014 Posted in Antitrust, Class Action Fairness Act

In Mississippi ex rel. Jim Hood v. AU Optronics Corp., Case No. 12-1036 (U.S. Jan. 14, 2014), the United States Supreme Court reversed the Fifth Circuit’s decision and held that a statewide antitrust lawsuit brought by the state attorney general seeking restitution for its citizens is not a CAFA mass action and is therefore not … Continue Reading

Class Action Settlement Based on Voucher Payout Wins Preliminary Approval by California District Court

By Judy Selby on November 18, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Settlements

On November 5, 2013, a California federal district court preliminarily approved a revised coupon-based class action settlement agreement between plaintiffs and OfficeMax (see Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Revised Class Action Settlement Agreemeent). As reported here in September, the court rejected a prior proposed settlement between the plaintiffs, who had accused OfficeMax of illegally recording … Continue Reading

OfficeMax Class Action Zip Code Plaintiffs Again Seek Approval for Settlement and Attorney Fee Payment

By Judy Selby on September 18, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Settlements

Editor’s Note: This post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. Lawyers representing a purported class of customers who accused retailer OfficeMax North America Inc. (OfficeMax) of illegally recording their zip codes tried again this week to gain court approval of a settlement deal agreed to with OfficeMax. Dardarian v. OfficeMax Inc., case number … Continue Reading

You’ve Got to Have Class: Assignment of Insurance Coverage Claim for TCPA Class Settlement Does Not Trigger CAFA Jurisdiction

By Judy Selby on July 1, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

An Illinois federal district court recently remanded an insurance coverage case to state court, ruling that there was no jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) for the simple reason that the plaintiff did not purport to represent a class. Addison Automatics Inc. v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co., Case No. 1:13-cv-01922 (June 25, 2013). … Continue Reading

After Standard Fire Uncertainty Continues About the Legal Certainty Standard for CAFA Removal in California District Courts

By Dustin Dow on June 13, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

Of all the recent landscape-shifting opinions the Supreme Court has issued in the class-action arena, perhaps none appear as straightforward as Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles, 133 S.Ct. 1345 (2013). Recall that in Standard Fire the Court laid down an explicit rule that a putative class-action plaintiff’s stipulation to seek damages of less than … Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Consider CAFA’s Reach to Attorney General Suits

By Deborah Renner on June 3, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

Editors’ Note — This post originally appeared in Rennerclassactions.com, and is reprinted by permission. The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided The Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles , a case that dealt with the extent to which plaintiffs can avoid federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) by pleading around it. (See our March 20, 2013 post.) On May … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Rejects Efforts to Avoid CAFA Jurisdiction

By Deborah Renner on March 20, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Class Action Trends

Editors’ Note: This post is a joint submission to this blog and rennerclassactions.com. In The Standard Fire Insurance Co.v. Knowles, No. 11-1450, a unanimous decision yesterday written by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court held that a plaintiff cannot stipulate to an amount of damages for a putative class in order to avoid federal jurisdiction under … Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Consider Rights of Absent Class Members in CAFA Case

By Deborah Renner on September 7, 2012 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Class Action Trends

On August 31st, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari review of a case involving the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”). In The Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles, No. 11-1450, plaintiff’s counsel tried to avoid the federal jurisdiction mandated by CAFA by stipulating that the damages sought by the putative class would be … Continue Reading

Tenth Circuit Holds that Mere Allegation by Plaintiff of Intent Not to Seek More than $4,999,999.99 in Damages Is Not Dispositive of CAFA Jurisdiction

By Paul Karlsgodt on June 29, 2012 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

Yesterday, the Tenth Circuit joined the majority of Circuit Courts of Appeals in holding that a plaintiff cannot conclusively avoid federal removal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) by including in the complaint a statement of intention not to seek more than $4,999,999.99 in damages on behalf of the putative class. … Continue Reading

The Importance of a Defendant’s Active Participation in Class Action Settlement Administration

By Casie Collignon on April 22, 2012 Posted in Practice Pointers, Settlements

A class action settlement has been reached. The agreement is inked. You have preliminary approval. A class action settlement administrator has been hired. In many respects, the hard part is over, but that does not mean that either the defendant or defense counsel can become complacent. There are still a variety of steps that must … Continue Reading

Can a Class Action Plaintiff Limit the Putative Class’s Damages to Secure a State Forum?

By Justin Winquist on January 2, 2012 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

Can a class action plaintiff, acting on behalf of a putative class, limit the putative class members’ damages in order to secure a state forum? Is the putative representative bound by his or her duties to absent class members to maximize the damages they can recover? Several courts have addressed these questions, and the answer to date … Continue Reading

CAFA: Ninth Circuit Gives Deference to Plaintiff’s Jurisdictional Allegations Avoiding CAFA Removal

By Matthew J. Moody on January 2, 2012 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

The Southern District of California’s recent decision in Montalvo v. Swift Transportation Corp., No. 11-cv-1827-L(BLM), 2011 WL 6399457 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2011) demonstrates how a class action plaintiff’s artful pleading regarding the amount in controversy can keep a case in state court. Plaintiff Montalvo was employed as a driver for Defendant, a truckload carrier … Continue Reading