E.D. Mich. Holds that Nonsuiting and Refiling Post-CAFA Sufficient to Deem the Action "Commenced" after CAFA's Enactment Date

In Price v. Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, Inc., Slip Copy, 2005 WL 2649205 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 17, 2005) the court held that although plaintiff originally filed their suit in state court prior to the enactment date of CAFA, a suit that was removed to federal court, once the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case and refiled it in state court after CAFA's enactment date the case was a new action "commenced" upon refiling. This determination meant that the plaintiff's case qualified for federal jurisdiciton under CAFA, notwithstanding the defendant's argument that the refiled case should relate back to the time of the original pre-CAFA state court filing.