Robert Rodriguez v. At&t Mobility Services LLC

Plaintiff Robert Rodriguez filed a putative class action in state court, which Defendant removed to federal district court. Defendant contended that there was federal jurisdiction over the action under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”), Pub.L. No. 109-2, 119 Stat. 4 (2005), and in particular 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (d)(2). Rodriguez alleged that the amount in controversy did not exceed $5 million, as required for federal jurisdiction, and purported to waive any claim by the class in excess of that amount. Based on that waiver, the district court granted Rodriguez’s motion to remand the case to state court. The Supreme Court later held that such a waiver was ineffective, however. Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 1345 , 185 L.Ed.2d 439 (2013). As a result, we vacate the district court’s order and remand to the district court for further proceedings.

In its remand order, the district court held that to establish federal jurisdiction over a putative class action, Defendant must demonstrate to a “legal certainty” that the amount in controversy exceeded the $5 million threshold amount, based upon our decision to that effect in Lowder-milk v. U.S.…