United States: Eleventh Circuit Decision Threatens To Eliminate Federal Jurisdiction Over Most Consumer And Employment Class Actions, Undermining The Goals Of The Class Action Fairness Act

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has just issued a decision that, if it is allowed to stand, will preclude federal jurisdiction over virtually all class-action lawsuits filed in, or removed to, federal courts within that circuit. In Cappuccitti v. DirecTV, Inc., the Eleventh Circuit held sua sponte that the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) does not allow for jurisdiction over class actions unless the amount in controversy for at least one plaintiff (or class member) exceeds $75,000. So long as Cappucitti remains in force, federal courts in the Eleventh Circuit will lack jurisdiction over virtually all consumer and employment class actions, as individual plaintiffs in those actions typically have modest claims. That result would undercut the core purpose of CAFA—to ensure a federal forum for significant class actions—and could transform state courts in the Eleventh Circuit into magnet jurisdictions for class actions that (under Cappuccitti) cannot be removed.