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April 14, 2005
Class Action Fairness Act does not apply . . .
. . . to pending state cases that are removed after the effective date of the Act.
A class action claiming violation of state law overtime requirements was pending in state court at the time the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 went into effect on February 18, 2005.
The employer removed the case to federal court under the Act's provision that expanded the subject matter jurisdiction of federal courts to cover class actions in which at least one plaintiff class member is diverse in citizenship from the defendant and where the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million.
The federal district court remanded the case back to state court. The 10th Circuit agreed that federal courts have no jurisdiction. Pritchett v. Office Depot (10th Cir 04/11/2005).
Section 9 of the Act provides that "[t]he amendments made by this Act shall apply to any civil action commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act."
Pritchett's case was filed in state court prior to the effective date of the Act, but the employer's petition for removal was filed after the effective date of the Act. The employer argued that Pritchett's case was "commenced" under Section 9 as of the date that it was removed to federal court. Pritchett argued that the case was "commenced" under Section 9 as of the date it was filed in state court. The court agreed with Pritchett, observing that "[t]raditionally, a cause of action is commenced when it is first brought in an appropriate court, which here was when it was brought in state court.... When a matter is removed to federal court, it is not traditionally viewed as recommenced, nor as a new cause of action."
My view: A strained argument by the employer. The court knows how to read a statute.
Posted April 14, 2005 by Ross Runkel, Editor at LawMemo, publisher of Employment Law Memo. Try it.
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