Mo. Judge Remands Medtronic Infuse Bone Graft Case to State Court

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri federal judge has remanded an Infuse bone graft case to state court, finding the nondiverse surgeon defendant was not fraudulently joined and that the case does not arise under federal law within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

On Dec. 3, Senior Judge Ortrie D. Smith of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri found the claims against Medtronic Inc. and the surgeon do not "turn on substantial questions of federal law” and therefore do not “justify resort to the experience, solicitude, and hope of uniformity that a federal forum …