Two recent federal court of appeals decisions on the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) address the measurement of the amount in controversy on a declaratory judgment claim, and a “late” removal based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles.  Both decisions are favorable to defendants.  The Eleventh Circuit’s opinion

Under the coupon settlement provision of the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), do attorneys’ fees always have to be based on the value of the coupons redeemed, or can they be based on a lodestar calculation?  The Ninth Circuit recently addressed this question and held, in a 2-1 decision, that any award of fees “attributable

Last week the Ninth Circuit issued a decision reversing the district court’s approval of a class action settlement, based on a provision in the agreement that, as interpreted by the court, required the class representatives to support the proposed settlement in order to qualify for receiving an incentive award.  The court concluded that this presented

Some plaintiffs’ lawyers have suggested that when a defendant removes a case under the Class Action Fairness Act, it must submit evidence (such as affidavits) with the notice of removal establishing the amount in controversy and other facts pertinent to removal.  The Ninth Circuit recently issued a short, unpublished opinion explaining that there is no