Pa. Federal Judge Remands COVID-19 Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Meatpacking Co.

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has remanded a lawsuit filed against a meat processing company by the son of a slaughterhouse worker who died after contracting COVID-19, ruling that the plaintiff failed to prove that the action does not necessarily raise a federal issue.

In a Jan. 29 order, Judge John R. Padova of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania further ruled that the sole non-diverse defendant was not fraudulently joined because it is unclear whether that defendant employed the decedent.

The May 7 complaint, originally filed in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, …