Federal Judge Remands Hip Case Against DePuy, Distributors

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A federal judge has granted a plaintiff's motion to remand his DePuy ASR hip implant case to state court, rejecting defendants' argument that the case should be stayed to allow the federal MDL court to rule on jurisdiction. Walker v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., et al., No. 3:11-cv-02291-JFA (D. S.C.).

Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina said in his Oct. 12 order that in-state distributors were not fraudulently joined to defeat diversity jurisdiction and that Elizabeth M. Walker has at least a "glimmer of hope" of prevailing on …