Removal of Propoxyphene Case Under CAFA Improper, Calif. Judge Rules

SAN FRANCISCO —Eli Lilly’s removal of a state court propoxyphene case to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act was improper because the action does not meet the act’s definition of “mass action,” a California federal judge has ruled.

On Feb. 25, Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held that a petition to coordinate all California propoxyphene state court actions does not seek a joint trial and therefore does not meet the definition of “mass action.”

This is one of more than 40 cases pending in California state and federal …