Abstract
This Comment seeks to explain the strange turn of events leading to these unusual alliances and to suggest that Dart provides an important window into the way the Court manipulates its certiorari jurisdiction to achieve substantive policy ends. It is not surprising that the Court stretched its certiorari jurisdiction (or at least failed to do its due diligence) in granting certiorari in a decision denying federal court access to a class action. The Court has gone out of its way in recent years to expand federal jurisdiction over class actions while simultaneously trying to defang the class action device. Although the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA)has provided explicit support for expanding federal court jurisdiction over class actions under the theory that the federal courts provide consistent, higher-quality justice in support of national interests, the Court has not shied away from interpreting CAFA to its limits. In addition, Dart coincided with the Court’s other recent decisions attempting to clarify the pleadings standards in federal courts and featured a strong dissenting opinion below, all of which appeared to make the decision ripe for review.
Part I of this Comment addresses the changes to federal removal practices brought about by CAFA and examines the procedural background of Dart more closely. Part II argues that Dart shows the malleability of seemingly neutral principles of appellate practice and the need to consider carefully the practical repercussion of jurisdictional and appellate rules. The Conclusion discusses what modest lessons may be gleaned from a seemingly unique decision.
Recommended Citation
Stephen Carr,
Class Actions Removability and the Changing Business of the Supreme Court: Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. v. Owens,
67 Fla. L. Rev.
1501
(2015).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol67/iss4/5