Atwell, et al. v. Boston Scientific Corp., No. 13-8031 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseThis case arose when groups of plaintiffs filed product liability actions against four manufacturers of transvaginal mesh devices, including Boston Scientific. Three groups filed similar motions proposing that the state court assign each group to a single Judge for purposes of discovery and trial. Two district judges granted plaintiffs' motions and remanded to state court on the ground that no case included more than 100 plaintiffs and plaintiffs had not proposed to the state court that the actions be tried jointly. The court granted Boston Scientific leave to appeal and vacated the order remanding to state court where the three groups of plaintiffs have already proposed to try their cases jointly within the meaning of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), 28 U.S.C. 1332(d)(11)(B)(i), because plaintiffs' counsel urged the state court to assign the claims of more than 100 plaintiffs to a single judge.
Court Description: Civil case - Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. The district court erred in remanding these three cases to state court on the ground that no case included more than 100 plaintiffs and plaintiffs had not proposed that the cases be tried jointly; at the state court motion hearing plaintiffs' counsel urged the state court to assign the claims of more than 100 plaintiffs to a single judge, thereby converting the cases into a single mass action subject to federal jurisdiction. [ November 15, 2013
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