The Class Action Fairness Act ('CAFA') was enacted almost a year and a half ago, signed into law by President Bush on Feb. 18, 2005. 28 U.S.C. §1332(d)(2). CAFA was enacted to help control the 'explosion' in the number of class actions while still allowing the right of access to the courts. As stated by one of the act's proponents, Sen. Orin Hatch, during his keynote address to the American Bar Association conference on class actions, 'truly national class actions should not be heard in remote state courts with little tie to any of the parties involved.' CAFA attempts to rectify this situation by allowing national class actions to be heard in federal courts.
- June 28, 2006Lianne S. Pinchuk
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
June 28, 2006ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
June 28, 2006Rupert Barkoff and Kitt ShipeEasy-to-read listing of everything contained in this issue.
June 28, 2006ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |Decided recently by Westchester Supreme Court, Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club, Inc. v. Fraioli raises a much litigated issue in New York: When can a municipality apply a newly enacted ordinance to a pending application by a developer?
June 28, 2006Stewart E. Sterk and Cara Marie KossSona Laser Centers and Sona MedSpas is locked in an increasingly bitter dispute with some of its original franchisees, involving not only typical franchise issues but also the franchisees' allegations that at least one of the services they offer to customers, a laser treatment for hair removal, does not work. While franchisees have received considerable favorable publicity in the fight to date, Sona executives say that the actions of the franchisees belie some of their complaints, and Sona remains committed to building a national chain of spas.
June 28, 2006Kevin Adler

