Distributor Defendant Not Fraudulently Joined to Mont. Hip Action, Judge Rules

MISSOULA, Mont. — A Montana federal judge has remanded a DePuy hip replacement lawsuit to state court, agreeing with a magistrate judge that the parties are not completely diverse because the non-diverse distributor defendant was not fraudulently joined.

In an Oct. 13 order, Judge Dana L. Christensen of the U.S. District Court for the District of Missouri explained that non-diverse party KB Orthopedics Inc., which is a distributor of the Pinnacle hip system, could found strictly liable for the plaintiff’s injuries.

The judge rejected defendants’ argument that under Montana law, any party in the chain of distribution cannot be held …