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
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
In Thorogood v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 2012 WL 1508226 (7th Cir. May 1, 2012), the Seventh Circuit considered the propriety of an All Writs Act injunction in the face of a copy-cat class action for a “near-frivolous” claim. After detailing the abuse of the class action device by the plaintiffs’ lawyers, the Court nevertheless … Continue Reading
In an opinion written by Justice Kagan, the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Smith v. Bayer, 131 S. Ct. 2368 (2011) leaves class action plaintiffs with a way in which to potentially relitigate adverse certification decisions. Holding that a federal court could not enjoin a state court from determining a motion for certification similar to … Continue Reading
