New Second Circuit CAFA decision: DiTolla v. Doral Dental
In DiTolla v. Doral Dental IPA of New York, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (Nov. 17, 2006), the Second Circuit addressed CAFA's requirement that appeals be decided within 60 days after "filing":
CAFA’s 60-day clock for rendering judgment starts running on the day that the Court’s order granting permission to appeal is filed. In so holding, we join several of our sister circuits. See Hart v. FedEx Ground Package System Inc., 457 F.3d 675, 678 (7th Cir. 2006); Evans v. Walter Industries, Inc., 449 F.3d 1159, 1162-63 (11th Cir. 2006); Patterson v. Dean Morris, L.L.P., 444 F.3d 365 (5th Cir. 2006); Bush v. Cheap Tickets, Inc., 425 F.3d 683, 685-86 (9th Cir. 2005).
Slip op. at 6-7. Next, the court held that CAFA did not alter the rule that the party seeking removal bears the burden of establishing jurisdiction:
It is well-settled that, prior to CAFA’s enactment, “[t]he party asserting federal jurisdiction [bore] the burden of proving that the case [was] properly in federal court.” Gilman v. BHC Sec., 104 F.3d 1418, 1421 (2d Cir. 1997) (citing McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 189 (1936)). It is an issue of first impression in this Court whether CAFA has changed this traditional rule. Substantially for the reasons articulated by the District Court, we join three of our sister circuits and hold that it has not. See Miedema v. Maytag Corp., 450 F.3d 1322, 1328-29 (11th Cir. 2006); Abrego Abrego v. Dow Chem. Co., 443 F.3d 676, 685 (9th Cir. 2006); Brill v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 427 F.3d 446, 448 (7th Cir. 2005).
Slip op. at 7. Finally, the court construed CAFA's "amount in controversy" provision in the context of an accounting claim. It determined that the amount of the fund of which the accounting was sought was not "in controversy," as that term is used in CAFA:
[Plaintiff's] complaint does not even purport to suggest the value of, much less lay claim to, the [fund]. It seeks only an accounting, the results of which are presently unknown. For that reason, no one can say how much money may be ultimately claimed by [plaintiff]. .... [W]e may infer that if the accounting were to reveal such potential fraud, [plaintiff] and the putative class would stand to gain court-ordered restitution or a settlement. We cannot say beyond mere speculation, however, whether those damages, if they are awarded, would be more than $5 million. [Defendant] has thus failed to demonstrate that the claim here satisfies CAFA’s jurisdictional amount in controversy.
Slip op. at 10, 12. [Hat tip: Consumer Law & Policy Blog]