Class Action Fairness Act Achieves Goal, but With a Catch

Class Action Fairness Act Achieves Goal, but With a Catch - 2-13-2009

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HEADLINES \| SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS \| COURT FILINGS LINKS TO OTHER NEWS \| NEWS ARCHIVE	HEADLINES ARCHIVED SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS ARCHIVED

HEADLINE NEWS:

Class Action Fairness Act Achieves Goal, but With a Catch
Marcia Coyle

http://www.law.com. February 13, 2009
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EXCERPT: Although the federal Class Action Fairness Act is achieving its goal of shifting the typical multistate class action from state court to federal court, a "paradoxical" result is a surge in single-state class actions designed to avoid the federal law's removal provisions, according to a recent study. "We've seen a lot of those [single-state class-action filings]," said Andrew Tulumello, vice-chairman of the class-action group in the Washington office of Los Angeles-based Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. "You will get a lot of cases styled: All Citizens of New Jersey, for example, or All Consumers in California." The single-state actions also are usually staggered, he added, explaining that the California action may be filed one month and five months later, an Illinois action will be filed. "It's sort of a back door effort to involve multiple states and to avoid a removal to federal court." […] The class-action update also notes that circuit splits continue to develop on issues concerning Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23 and class certification but that the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to take up the more pressing questions. In the past five terms, according to the firm update, the Supreme Court has decided seven tax cases, six Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases, five cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and five cases under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. "However, in the last 35 years, the Supreme Court has decided fewer than a dozen cases involving core class-action issues." Tulumello said, "When you look at the volume of class-action cases in federal courts and how frequently Rule 23 issues come up, there is a mismatch between what the Supreme Court has done in this area and what federal courts are doing every day. There are a lot of open issues."

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