Texas Federal Judge Remands S&N BHR Hip System Action, Says Sales Rep Properly Joined

DALLAS — A Texas federal judge has remanded a lawsuit involving Smith & Nephew’s Birmingham Hip Replacement System, ruling that diversity is lacking because the plaintiffs have adequately alleged that the company’s non-diverse sales representative violated the state product liability act.

In a Feb. 17 order, Judge Sam Lindsay of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas deemed adequate the plaintiffs’ claims that the sales rep changed the design of the BHR system by removing the metal liner and other parts and then distributing them in an unapproved, illegal combination along with other S&N component parts.

Bonnie …