Judge Rejects Fraudulent Joinder Argument, Remands Asbestos Case

GREENVILLE, Miss. - A federal court in Mississippi recently remanded an asbestos case that had been removed by defendants on the ground that local retailers had been fraudulently joined as defendants in an effort to defeat diversity jurisdiction. Duffin v. Honeywell International, et al., No. 03-389 (N.D. Miss.).

In an opinion issued April 5, Judge Michael P. Mills of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi ruled the removing defendants failed to demonstrate that there exists no possibility of recovery against the local retailers named in the multi-plaintiff asbestos case. Judge Mills also questioned the motive of …