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Court adds class actions, religion to docket.

Article Excerpt
On Monday, September 28, 2004, the justices formally returned from summer break for the term's first conference. They considered the large number of petitions for certiorari that had accumulated during their recess and granted review in eight cases; in October, they agreed to hear 10 more. This process has continued until this month, when the docket for the October 2004 term will be complete. As in recent years, the Court will hear approximately 75 cases.

The cases the Supreme Court accepted in the fall involve class action litigation, religion, freedom of speech, and economic liberties. These cases will all be argued this term and decided by the end of June.

Class actions

In a long-awaited decision that is likely to be of special interest to trial lawyers, the Court will decide whether federal courts may exercise diversity jurisdiction over class actions even if some members of the class do not have a claim for money damages greater than $75,000. Exxon Corp. v. Allapatah Services, Inc., will resolve an issue that has split the circuits for over a decade. (1)

More than 30 years ago, in Zahn v. International Paper Co., the Supreme Court held that a federal court may hear a class action where jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship only if every member of the class meets the amount-in-controversy requirement. (2) In 1990, Congress revised the statutes that define federal court jurisdiction and, in 28 U.S.C. [section]1367, provided for supplemental jurisdiction. The judicially created concepts of pendent and ancillary jurisdiction were replaced by this statute, which expressly authorized federal courts to hear claims that arise from the same facts as those in other matters properly before them.

The question before the Court in Exxon Corp. is...

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