Home Depot Loses Jurisdictional Fight at Supreme Court (2)

Home Depot Inc. couldn’t convince the U.S. Supreme Court to close a loophole it says consumers use to keep class actions out of federal court.

The Class Action Fairness Act, which creates federal jurisdiction for certain large class actions, can’t be invoked by counterclaim defendants as well as traditional defendants, the court said in a 5–4 decision by Justice Clarence Thomas joined by the liberal justices.

The breakdown is notable in a term in which Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh have crossed over in 5–4 decisions.

“The interesting part of ...