Chief Justice John Roberts in Favor of Business
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts in his first Supreme Court opinion wrote a nine-page opinion that said Franklin Resources Inc. and another company don’t have to pay the legal fees two New Mexico consumers incurred in a pre-trial skirmish over the proper forum for their lawsuit and thus produced a narrow but unanimous victory for businesses, limiting the ability of consumers to win attorneys’ fees.
The dispute concerned a law that lets defendants shift lawsuits from state to federal court in some circumstances. Businesses often use that approach in the hope of getting a more favorable hearing before a federal judge and jury.
The issue for Roberts and the court was whether legal fees generally should go to plaintiffs who successfully argue against a bid to move a case into federal court. Roberts said fees should be awarded only when a litigant ”lacked an objectively reasonable basis” for arguing in favor of a federal forum.
The decision upheld a lower court ruling favoring Franklin and Century-National Insurance Co. The two companies are fighting a class-action lawsuit filed by Gerald and Juana Martin over auto loans and insurance.
Filed under General Law
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