This just in. The Supreme Court decided two important cases today. In Mississippi v. Hood, No. 12-1036, the Court held that state attorney general actions do not qualify under CAFA for removal to federal court under that statute’s minimal diversity standards for “mass actions.”   The decision was unanimous, and it primarily turned on statutory interpretation and history.   There is some interesting analysis (see p.11-12), that can be useful in arguing future cases concerning Atwell (v. Boston Scientific Corp., ___ F.3d ___, 2013 WL 6050762 (8th Cir. Nov. 18, 2013)), and fraudulent joinder/misjoinder issues in future cases.

In Daimler v. Bauman, No. 11-965, a personal jurisdiction matter, the Court held (this is a simplification) that “agency theory” cannot be used to attribute a subsidiary’s jurisdictional contacts to an overseas parent to allow personal injury under a Due Process analysis.   The lower court’s failure to “pay heed” to international comity concerns was also criticized, which could serve as a basis for future defense initiatives in this area. There were no dissents and one concurrence.

So we won one and lost one.