The Oyez Project Virtual Tour of the Supreme Court Building

Abstract

Argument: Monday, October 7, 2002
Decision: Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Issues: Judicial Power, Writ Improvidently Granted

Advocates

Steve W. Berman (Argued the cause for the respondents)
Seth P. Waxman (Argued the cause for the petitioners)

Facts of the Case

When Ford Motor Company and Citibank (South Dakota), N.A. canceled a credit card rebate program that enabled cardholders to accrue and redeem rebates towards the purchase of a new Ford, cardholders filed multiple state-based class actions. Ford and Citibank removed the cases to federal court. The cardholder plaintiffs consolidated their actions, seeking reinstitution of the program. Ultimately, the Court of Appeals found that each class member was asserting a separate and distinct claim and that the individual claims did not satisfy the $75,000 amount-in-controversy requirement. The appellate court also concluded that premising jurisdiction on the cost of complying with an injunction in favor of a single plaintiff would conflict with the principle of the amount-in-controversy requirement.

Question

Is the amount-in-controversy requirement of the federal diversity statute satisfied where a class representative seeks an injunction that would cost the defendant more than $75,000 to implement whether the injunction applies to one plaintiff or all class members?

Conclusion

In a per curiam opinion, the Court dismissed the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted.

Supreme Court Justice Opinions and Votes (by Ideology)

Sort by Seniority
(More information here)
Decision: 9 votes for McCauley, 0 vote(s) against
Voted with the majority
Stevens
Voted with the majority
Ginsburg
Voted with the majority
Souter
Voted with the majority
Breyer
Voted with the majority
O'Connor
Voted with the majority
Kennedy
Voted with the majority
Rehnquist
Voted with the majority
Scalia
Voted with the majority
Thomas
Per Curiam with Argument

Cite this page

The Oyez Project, Ford Motor Co. v. McCauley, 537 U.S. 1 (2002),
available at: <http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2002/2002_01_896/>
(last visited ).