July 29, 2010

The Class Action Fairness Act created 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d), a new category of federal diversity jurisdiction for class actions that exceeded $5 million in value. The Eleventh Circuit just issued an opinion proclaiming that CAFA jurisdiction only exists when the § 1332(a) requirement of more than $75,000 in controversy applies to at least one class plaintiff. This extraordinarily tendentious reading of the statute contradicts every other circuit to examine the issue—including the Eleventh. [Trask; Andrews @ Forbes; Steinman] Expect a 9-0 per curiam decision from the Supreme Court in the near future, assuming an en banc court doesn't correct the travesty.