Settlement Class Defined to Include Uninjured Members Cannot Be Approved
Posted on Aug 18, 2022 in Class Actions | Comments Off on Settlement Class Defined to Include Uninjured Members Cannot Be Approved
An appeal concerning the meaning of coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act instead produced an important opinion, Drazen v. Pinto, 2022 LEXIS 20766 (11th Cir. July 27, 2022), addressing the certification of classes that are defined to include members who have not been injured. Some background may be helpful in understanding the ruling. In TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 141...
Divided Panel Denies Petition to Appeal Sua Sponte Remand to State Court
Posted on Mar 14, 2022 in Jurisdiction | Comments Off on Divided Panel Denies Petition to Appeal Sua Sponte Remand to State Court
In Ruhlen v. Holiday Haven Homeowners, Inc., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 6184 (11th Cir. Mar. 9, 2022), a divided panel of the Eleventh Circuit held that the court lacked appellate jurisdiction to review a district court’s sua sponte remand to state court for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The underlying dispute concerned the presence or absence of jurisdiction under the Class Action...
General Statistical Evidence of “Local Controversy” Held Insufficient for Jurisdiction Under Class Action Fairness Act
Posted on Mar 23, 2021 in Class Actions | Comments Off on General Statistical Evidence of “Local Controversy” Held Insufficient for Jurisdiction Under Class Action Fairness Act
Can class-action plaintiffs avoid federal court by relying on general economic studies and population statistics to prove that their case should be in state court? Not in the Eleventh Circuit. In Smith v. Marcus & Millichap, Inc., 2021 WL 939184 (11th Cir. Mar. 12, 2021), the court held that “studies, surveys, and census data—which do not directly involve the plaintiffs”—are...
Foundry Employees’ Action is a “Mass Action” Subject to Removal Under the Class Action Fairness Act
Posted on Mar 20, 2020 in Class Actions, Jurisdiction | Comments Off on Foundry Employees’ Action is a “Mass Action” Subject to Removal Under the Class Action Fairness Act
The Eleventh Circuit has clarified the scope of the “local event exception” to the federal-court jurisdiction over “mass actions” conferred by the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”), holding that claims by former foundry employees against manufacturers and distributors of products used at the foundry are not within the exception. Spencer v. Specialty Foundry Prods. Inc., 2020 WL...
Class Action Seeking Reinstatement of Life Insurance Policies Was Properly Removed to Federal Court
Posted on Nov 26, 2019 in Class Actions, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Class Action Seeking Reinstatement of Life Insurance Policies Was Properly Removed to Federal Court
In Anderson v. Wilco Life Ins. Co., 2019 WL 6242199 (11th Cir. Nov. 22, 2019), the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s order remanding to state court a putative class action against a life insurance company. The case had been properly removed under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”), the appeals court held, because the plaintiff’s request for an order requiring...