Eleventh Circuit Finds Dual Citizenship Defeats CAFA Diversity

The Eleventh Circuit recently denied a petition to appeal an order remanding a putative class action to state court, finding the defendant corporations' dual citizenship defeated minimal diversity under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in Georgia state court against two insurance companies, alleging a variety of state law claims and limiting the class to include only Georgia citizens. The defendant companies removed under CAFA. Both were incorporated in Georgia but had their principal places of business in Florida, making them citizens of both states. They claimed that minimal diversity existed because defendants were citizens of Florida and therefore diverse from the Georgia class members under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2)(A) and because the putative class included individuals who were citizens of foreign countries, also satisfying minimal diversity under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2)(B).