Credit: SkyLine/stock.adobe.com Plaintiff's Allegations Over Value in Consumer Class Action Backfire in Effort to Keep Suit in Pa. State Court
"The court need look no further than Mr. Fitchett's own words. Mr. Fitchett suggests that the issue class ruling he seeks would bring all putative class members to the 'five-yard line' on potential UTPCPL claims."
August 28, 2024 at 11:32 AM
4 minute read
A plaintiff's efforts to keep his unfair-trade practices class action in state court were undercut by his own allegations, a federal judge found in a ruling earlier this week, determining that the simple math of the plaintiff's allegations meant the case belonged in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania determined, in an Aug. 26 opinion, that a class action filed on behalf of plaintiff Timothy Fitchett, against pet pharmacy PetMed Express, should be kept in federal court as the case value exceeds $5 million, which is the amount required for federal district courts to have original jurisdiction over a class action arising under state law.
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