Ill. Federal Judge Refuses to Remand Hip Action, Orders Plaintiff to Amend Complaint Against S&N, Distributor

PEORIA, Ill. — An Illinois federal judge has denied a plaintiff’s motion to remand a hip replacement action filed against Smith & Nephew Inc. and a nondiverse distributor, ruling that remand would be improper because the action was filed in federal court.

In a Sept. 15 order, Chief Judge James Shadid of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois further held that dismissal of S&N would not remedy the jurisdictional defect because the Illinois Distributor Statute bars courts from dismissing actions where the plaintiff can show that the distributor defendant has exercised some significant control over the …