“Any” is a small word with a meaning that suggests both inclusivity and possibility. But a recent 7th Circuit ruling that creates a loophole in the Class Action Fairness Act’s (CAFA) jurisdictional powers found there are limits to the power of “any.”
As written in CAFA, “any defendant” includes defendants only–not counterclaim defendants too, according to the 7th Circuit’s March 24 decision in First Bank v. DJL Properties, LLC. That literal interpretation means that although “any” of the defendants in the initial class action lawsuit can remove the case to federal court if they meet CAFA’s other requirements, a plaintiff who becomes a defendant in a subsequent counterclaim class action cannot.
