Oxycontin Manufacturer Claims Plaintiff Fraudulently Joined Physician, Files Notice of Removal

BATON ROUGE, La.-The manufacturers of Oxycontin claim in a recent removal notice alleging fraudulent joinder that a man who allegedly suffered addiction to the prescription painkiller failed to state sufficient legal claims against the physician who prescribed the drug, the physician's insurance company and the clinic where the physician worked. Fanguy v. Smith, et al., No. 02-CV-906 (M.D. La.).

Purdue Pharma's Sept. 23 Notice of Removal states that the physician, the insurance company and the clinic were fraudulently joined to defeat diversity jurisdiction because Plaintiff Charles Fanguy's medical malpractice claims do not abide by Louisiana State law.

The removal …