Burden to Prove Jurisdiction Too Heavy for Lotronex Defendant; Judge Remands Case

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has granted a motion to remand a Lotronex product liability suit after finding that the defendants failed to conclusively prove the existence of federal jurisdiction and fraudulent joinder among non-diverse defendants in a lawsuit against the drug's manufacturers and distributors. Alexis et al., v. GlaxoSmithKline, et al., No. 02-059 (E.D. La.)

In his May 17 decision to remand the case to the 34th Judicial District Court of St. Bernard Parish, U.S. District Judge Marcel Livuadais, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, cited the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of …