N.J. Federal Judge Refuses to Remand Benicar Action, Says Doctor Fraudulently Joined

CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge has refused to remand a Benicar action to Texas state court, ruling that the only non-diverse defendant, a doctor, was fraudulently joined because the medical liability claim against him is time-barred.

On Jan. 30, Judge Robert B. Kugler of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey further found the medical liability claim “is wholly insubstantial and completely lacking in colorable basis” because the doctor averred in a sworn affidavit that he never prescribed the drug to the plaintiff.

In April 2015, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation created a …