Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles

Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles

This case presents the issue of whether the named plaintiff in a class action can prevent a state court class action from being removed to federal court by stipulating that the case is worth less than the federal jurisdictional threshold of $5 million (under the Class Action Fairness Act), even though the defendant submits proof that the actual amount in controversy exceeds $5 million.

Public Justice joined an amici brief with Public Citizen arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court that absent class members’ due process rights are not violated if a federal court allows such a stipulation to defeat removal and remands the case to state court. The brief explains that absent class members’ due process rights are amply protected by the class certification process, and should not be considered for purposes of determining federal court jurisdiction.

The brief was written by Scott Nelson, Jehan Patterson and Allison Zieve of Public Citizen.