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Free v. Abbott Labs., Inc.
(U.S. Supreme Court)
Diversity jurisdiction
On 4/3/00, an evenly divided Supreme Court affirmed the judgment below. The Fifth Circuit had held that 28 U.S.C. § 1367 overruled Zahn v. International Paper Co., 414 U.S. 291 (1973), thereby allowing the federal district court to retain jurisdiction over a diversity-based class action even though each member of the class did not satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The courts of appeals have divided on this question, which is very important to businesses that wish to avoid defending class actions in state court. The Supreme Court's decision, however, will not resolve this question since affirmance by an equally divided Court has no precedential effect and binds only the parties to the litigation.
Lower court opinions: 176 F.3d 298 (5th Cir. 1999); 51 F.3d 524 (5th Cir. 1995).
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