John Muldoon v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.
- Phyllis Hamilton
- 3:15-cv-02723
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 6
In John Muldoon v. John Muir, Judge Hamilton dismissed Muldoon’s RICO claim without leave to amend and dismissed John Muir from the action.
John Muir Health was dismissed from the action. Muldoon’s RICO claim against John Muir was dismissed without leave to amend, and the court declined to exercise jurisdiction over his remaining claims against John Muir.
What happened
John Muldoon sued DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., John Muir Health, Dr. David Dodgin, and others over injuries he attributed to a hip-replacement device. John Muir Health asked the court to dismiss all claims against it.
The court focused first on Muldoon’s claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, because the parties agreed that claim was the only basis for federal jurisdiction over the other claims against John Muir. The court found that Muldoon alleged personal injuries, surgery expenses, and other financial losses, but did not identify harm to a specific business or property interest required for a RICO claim. Muldoon also did not respond to this argument or explain how he could amend the claim.
Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton dismissed the RICO claim without leave to amend, declined to exercise jurisdiction over the remaining claims against John Muir, and dismissed John Muir from the action.
The detailed version
- John Muldoon v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. · No. 3:15-cv-02723
- Phyllis Hamilton
- Apr. 29, 2024
Background
John Muldoon’s Second Amended Complaint asserted 18 causes of action arising from injuries he allegedly suffered after a 2007 hip-replacement surgery. The defendants included Dr. David Dodgin, John Muir Health, and entities involved in producing or manufacturing the hip components. John Muir Health was the facility where the surgery was performed.
The complaint alleged that the ceramic-on-metal implant released toxic cobalt-chromium ions and particles into Muldoon’s body. It also alleged that he later underwent revision surgery in 2014. The claims against John Muir included civil RICO, medical negligence, negligent supervision, lack of informed consent, breach of fiduciary duty, and battery.
Jurisdiction and RICO claim
John Muir moved to dismiss all claims against it. The parties agreed that there was no complete diversity of citizenship, so diversity jurisdiction was unavailable. They also agreed that Muldoon’s RICO claim was the only basis for federal-question jurisdiction over the claims against John Muir.
The court explained that RICO permits a person injured in business or property by a RICO violation to sue. The court held that Muldoon did not allege injury to a specific business or property interest recognized by state law. Instead, the complaint alleged personal injuries, surgery expenses, related costs, and resulting financial losses. The court also noted that Muldoon did not address John Muir’s argument in his opposition, and therefore treated him as conceding that he could not state a RICO claim on this basis.
The court further found that Muldoon had not offered additional facts he would plead if given an opportunity to amend. It concluded that amendment would be futile.
Disposition
The court dismissed Claim 13, the RICO claim against John Muir, without leave to amend. Because the parties agreed that the RICO claim was the sole basis for federal jurisdiction over the remaining claims against John Muir, the court declined to exercise jurisdiction over those claims and dismissed John Muir from the action. The opinion does not state a separate disposition on the motion to strike.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.