Chemical Exposure Plaintiffs in West Virginia Seek Remand, Justify Claim Against In-State Defendant

CHARLESTON, W. Va. –– Plaintiffs in a chemical exposure action pending in West Virginia have supported their claim against an in-state defendant, maintaining that the company was not fraudulently joined in the action.

Plaintiffs Christina and Thomas Dearien filed the motion to remand on May 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, saying the justification for the removal was “nothing more than an affidavit from a principal of the West Virginia defendant, New River Trucking LLC, and its own asserted ‘good faith review of records’ on contested issues of fact.”

The underlying complaint alleges …