Supreme Court Holds State AG Suits Brought On Behalf Of State Citizens Are Not Removable As CAFA "Mass Actions"

On January 14, 2014, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Fifth Circuit and held that a suit filed by a state attorney general is not removable to federal court as a "mass action" under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) simply because it includes a claim based on injuries suffered by the State's citizens. Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp., No. 12-1036 (U.S. Jan. 14, 2014). The decision resolved a circuit split in favor of the Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, which all had held that similar lawsuits were not CAFA mass actions.