N.D. Ohio Notes Split Re Whether Cross-Claim Defendant Is a Defendant for Purposes of Removal

Per Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Jones, Slip Copy, 2007 WL 2236618 (N.D.Ohio Jul 31, 2007) (NO. 1:07 CV 728):

The Court does not disagree that the intent of Congress was to expand federal jurisdiction over class actions, by doing away with the nonaggregation rule and providing for minimal diversity. However, the argument that Congress intended to allow a cross-claim defendant to remove a case in enacting the CAFA is tenuous at best. As noted by Mullinax, the Circuit Courts are split on the issue of whether a cross-claim defendant is a defendant for purposes of removal. In the Sixth Circuit, a cross-claim defendant is not permitted to remove an action. There is no basis upon which to find otherwise.