Mississippi v. Au Optronics Corp., No. 12-1036; U.S. Supreme Court; opinion by Sotomayor, J.; decided January 14, 2014. On certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Congress enacted the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) to lower diversity jurisdiction requirements in class actions and, as relevant here, in mass actions, i.e., civil actions “in which monetary relief claims of 100 or more persons are proposed to be tried jointly on the ground that the plaintiffs’ claims involve common questions of law or fact,” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(11)(B)(i). Petitioner Mississippi sued respondent liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturers in state court, alleging violations of state law and seeking, inter alia, restitution for LCD purchases made by itself and its citizens. Respondents sought to remove the case to federal court. The district court held that the suit qualified as a mass action under § 1332(d)(11)(B)(i), but remanded the suit to state court on the ground that it fell within CAFA’s “general public” exception, § 1332(d)(11)(B)(ii)(III). The Fifth Circuit reversed, agreeing with the district court that the suit was a mass action but finding the general-public exception inapplicable.
