Mo. Federal Judge Remands Infuse Case to State Court, Finds Nondiverse Defendants not Fraudulently Joined

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri federal judge has remanded a Medtronic Infuse case to state court, finding the nondiverse healthcare defendants were not fraudulently joined because there is an arguably reasonable basis for predicting that the state law might impose liability against those defendants.

On May 8, Judge Carol E. Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri also found the claims against the nondiverse defendants are not time-barred under Missouri law because they sound in fraud, rather than medical malpractice, and are therefore subject to the state’s five-year statute of limitations.

In February 2008, Veronica …