As corporate defendants reflexively remove all state class actions into federal court, their attorneys might pause to reflect that unsuccessful attempts to remove under the federal Class Action Fairness Act might result in an award of plaintiffs’ costs and attorney fees, or worse. Since CAFA was enacted on Feb. 18, 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-2, 119 Stat. 4 (2005)), defendants now routinely invoke CAFA’s removal provisions to move state class actions into federal courts. See 28 U.S.C. 1453.
Such removal efforts may be fraught with unperceived peril. As defendants now routinely utilize CAFA removal strategy, plaintiffs in many CAFA removal cases have begun to seek attorney fees when a federal court grants a remand to state court. See e.g., Nelsen v. PeoplePC Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 41641 (N.D. Calif. May 30, 2007); Reibstein v. Continental Tire North America Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 24755 (E.D. Pa. April 2, 2007).
