UNITED STATES – On April 27, 2015, a Ninth Circuit Panel clarified the meaning of the Class Action Fairness Act’s (“CAFA”) “local single event exception” to federal jurisdiction, creating an arguable split in the Circuit Courts and giving U.S. class action parties more certainty in whether their cases may be removed from state to federal court. Allen v. Boeing Co., No. 15-35162 (9th Cir. April 27, 2015). In doing so, the Ninth Circuit Panel declined to…

UNITED STATES – Ascertainability of the class membership at the certification stage is a growing issue in U.S. class action litigation. A class definition satisfies Rule 23’s implied ascertainability requirement if the class is defined by objective factors and it is administratively feasible to determine whether a particular individual belongs to the class. Although this factor is not explicitly required by the terms of Rule 23 for certification of a class, it is increasingly becoming…