United States First Circuit

In plaintiffs' class action lawsuit against defendants, judgment of the district court remanding the case is vacated and remanded as the court determined prematurely that it lacked Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) jurisdiction on the ground that the complaint does not specifically define a proposed class.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/22/2009
• Published 10/22/2009

Judges

• SELYA, Circuit Judge., Before SELYA, BOUDIN and HOWARD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Charles P. Scheeler and DLA Piper LLP (US) on brief for defendant-appellant Connecticut General Life Insurance Company., Frank Gotay-Barquet and Gotay & Perez, P.S.C. on brief for defendant-appellant Metropolitan Life Insurance Company., Edna Hernández-Arroyo, María Luisa Martínez-López, and Ávila, Martínez & Hernández, P.S.C. on brief for plaintiff-appellee.  Manuel A. Pietrantoni, César T. Alcover Acosta, Casellas Alcover & Burgos, P.S.C., Rafael Escalera Rodríguez, and Reichard & Escalera on brief for defendants-appellees Triple-S Management, Inc., Triple-S, Inc., Triple-C, Inc., La Cruz Azul de Puerto Rico, Inc., and American Health, Inc., José A. Acosta-Grubb, María L. Montalvo-Vera, José Luis Ramírez-Coll, and Fiddler Gonzáles & Rodríguez, P.S.C. on brief for defendant-appellee Delta Dental Plan of Puerto Rico, Inc., German J. Brau and Usera Morell Bauzá Dapena & Cartagena on brief for defendants-appellees Preferred Medicare Choice, Inc., and MMM Health Care, Inc., Luis Sánchez Betances, Adrián Sánchez Pagán, and Sánchez Betances, Sifre & Muñoz Noya, P.S.C. on brief for defendants-appellees MAPFRE Life Insurance Company and Mennonite General Hospital, Inc., Carlos José Onetti Irizarry, Fermín M. Contreras Gómez, and Estuido Legal FermínM. Contreras Gómez on brief for defendants-appellees Medical Card System, Inc., MCS Health Management Options, Inc., and MCS Advantage, Inc.