Dissent Disagrees; However, Because No Fee Entitlement Was Available Under Michigan State Statutes, Fees Were Not Includable So Federal Jurisdiction Was Not Present—A Conclusion Endorsed By All The Panel Justices.
The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA) has a $50,000 amount-in-controversy jurisdictional threshold (exclusive of interests and costs), computed on the basis of all claims in the suit. 15 U.S.C. § 231(d)(3)(B). In the particular case before it, in Shoner v. Carrier Corp., Case No. 20-56327 (9th Cir. Apr. 14, 2022) (published), plaintiff brought a putative class action against Carrier for a defective air conditioner which was based on Michigan implied/warranty claims and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. The Ninth Circuit had to determine a split in sister circuit on whether attorney’s fees were “costs” which had to be excluded and further determine if there was fee entitlement anyway so as to confer federal jurisdiction on the district court with respect to the MMWA claim.
In a 2-1 opinion, the majority found that attorney’s fees could be included in determining the jurisdictional threshold and were not “costs,” disagreeing with four sister circuit courts and siding with the Seventh Circuit on the issue. The dissent believed that this issue did not have to be resolved based on the ultimate conclusion of the majority, but the dissenting justice had strong doubts that fees were to be counted in the calculus.
However, that brought the panel to the issue of whether fees were allowable under the Michigan state law claims for purposes of being included. Unanimously (with the dissenting justice concurring in this conclusion), the panel concluded there was no fee entitlement under Michigan law such that the statutory threshold could not be met and the MMWA claim was dismissed.
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