Ninth Circuit Holds that an Action Is "Commenced" under CAFA When State Law Considers it Commenced, Not Upon Removal

The Ninth Circuit in Bush v. Cheaptickets, Inc., 425 F.3d 683 (9th Cir. Oct. 06, 2005) has held that an action is "commenced" under the Class Action Fairness Act whenever the law of the state where the action is filed considers the action commenced as opposed to when the case is removed. Because California law deems an action to be commenced upon filing of the complaint, the court held that an action filed on February 17, 2005--one day before the enactment date of CAFA--commenced on that day and thus was non-removable under the terms of the statute.