Talc litigation that was originally filed in Missouri state court will remain in federal court, according to a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) judge's Jan. 21 order.
In Johnson v. Johnson & Johnson, diversity jurisdiction arguments prevailed over the joinder of multiple plaintiffs intended to keep the case in state court.
“The ruling tackles important matters on both the personal jurisdiction side as well as fraudulent joinder, which is essentially matching up plaintiffs simply to keep a case out of a federal court system by destroying diversity,” said Tiger Joyce, president of American Tort Reform Association (ATRA)
“This decision delineates very carefully and appropriately the way that a case like this should be decided strictly on the personal jurisdictional question and the related issue of federal jurisdiction under diversity of citizenship."
The ATRA has been critical of courts in St. Louis, calling city courts plaintiff-friendly, with relaxed expert scientific evidence rules.
“For future cases involving talc, the fact that an MDL judge has made this determination is highly relevant and where it stands in other types of MDL proceedings, I would think this decision would be influential,” Joyce said.
Plaintiffs argued that dismissing a party to preserve diversity jurisdiction is not appropriate for a state case involving removal to federal court, versus a case originally opened in federal court, according to media reports.
“Cases like this only generally find their way into federal court by being removed for the most part,” Joyce said. “So, if you take away the removal option for eligibility...you’re gutting it.”
As previously reported, the plaintiffs further argued that dismissing a party to preserve diversity jurisdiction undermines the plaintiff as the complaint’s master.
“The plaintiffs don't get to circumvent the constitutional limits that the courts have in terms of where and when they can bring cases and which kinds of cases,” Joyce added. "We have to operate within the limiting principles that have been established by the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the personal jurisdiction holdings of the U.S. Supreme Court.”