Judge considers split on class action jurisdiction

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted May 26, 2023 10:37 AM

Michael Velez couldn’t use the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act to provide subject matter jurisdiction for his federal class action against Rand McNally in Chicago, because “the number of named plaintiffs” was “less than one hundred.” Instead, he argued for jurisdiction based on the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.Only two U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal have considered “whether a class action based on violations of the MMWA that does not satisfy the MMWA’s numerosity requirement but satisfies CAFA may be brought in federal …

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