October Term 2017 · Docket 15-1439

Can state courts hear securities class actions with federal claims?

the sides that brought the case want federal courts to handle these suits. the opposing sides want state courts to keep them.

Official caption: Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund
Latest argument session: 2017-11-28
Latest official Court activity: 2017-11-28
Latest verified event: Argued
Sources analyzed through: Official Transcript

Verified source milestones

2026-08-29 — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.
2026-08-29 — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.

The arguments, in order

This case may have been argued more than once. Each entry below uses that session's official transcript. Later arguments do not erase earlier ones.

Argument 1 · 2017-11-28

What happened at the argument
Mr. Katyal argued Congress reacted to a new problem.
He said plaintiffs shifted litigation to state court.
Mr. Kedem argued SLUSA reestablished federal venue.
He said it did so by permitting removal.

Read the official transcript for this argument · Official argument details
Sources used for this argument breakdown
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 37-41 — Transcript, file page 10, lines 37-41
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 45-11 — Transcript, file page 10, lines 45-11
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 15-23 — Transcript, file page 11, lines 15-23
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 13-31 — Transcript, file page 12, lines 13-31
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 33-51 — Transcript, file page 12, lines 33-51
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 55-7 — Transcript, file page 12, lines 55-7
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 33, lines 35-9 — Transcript, file page 33, lines 35-9
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 11-23 — Transcript, file page 4, lines 11-23
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 25-31 — Transcript, file page 4, lines 25-31
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 46, lines 19-21 — Transcript, file page 46, lines 19-21
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 37-9 — Transcript, file page 5, lines 37-9
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 41-7 — Transcript, file page 6, lines 41-7
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 47-9 — Transcript, file page 7, lines 47-9
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 70, lines 37-19 — Transcript, file page 70, lines 37-19
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 73, lines 21-27 — Transcript, file page 73, lines 21-27
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 73, lines 49-53 — Transcript, file page 73, lines 49-53
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 74, lines 37-39 — Transcript, file page 74, lines 37-39
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 74, lines 43-45 — Transcript, file page 74, lines 43-45
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 74, lines 49-7 — Transcript, file page 74, lines 49-7
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 75, lines 41-51 — Transcript, file page 75, lines 41-51
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 75, lines 55-23 — Transcript, file page 75, lines 55-23
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 76, lines 27-27 — Transcript, file page 76, lines 27-27
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 76, lines 33-35 — Transcript, file page 76, lines 33-35
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 76, lines 39-39 — Transcript, file page 76, lines 39-39
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 76, lines 43-19 — Transcript, file page 76, lines 43-19
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 77, lines 53-7 — Transcript, file page 77, lines 53-7
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 78, lines 27-29 — Transcript, file page 78, lines 27-29
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 79, lines 51-15 — Transcript, file page 79, lines 51-15
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 13-17 — Transcript, file page 8, lines 13-17
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 15-21 — Transcript, file page 9, lines 15-21
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 31-37 — Transcript, file page 9, lines 31-37

A citizen's guide to the whole case

What this case is about

This case tests the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act. It asks if state courts can hear large securities class actions. The law aims to move these cases to federal courts. The dispute centers on the statute's text. It defines covered class actions. It excludes certain federal claims. The parties disagree on this exclusion's meaning.