Talcum Powder Plaintiff’s Request to Add Nondiverse Insurer as Defendant Denied

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge has denied a talcum powder plaintiff’s motion to amend her complaint to add a nondiverse defendant, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., ruling it would be futile because she has not pled a valid claim against the insurer.

In a Nov. 4 order, Magistrate Judge Janis van Meerveld of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana explained that the plaintiff is essentially seeking to substitute a previously dismissed nondiverse defendant with a new nondiverse defendant without any other change to the facts alleged.

Pamela Davis Lyles alleges that her diagnosis of …