Norton v. 3M Company

Background

Richard Norton filed the action in the Circuit Court of Etowah County, Alabama. He sued 3M Company; Arizant Healthcare, Inc.; Gadsden Regional Medical Center, LLC; Anesthesia Associates, P.A.; Joseph Scott Rayburn, MD; William T. Carr, CRNA; Northeast Orthopedic Clinic, PC; and Glenn L. Wilson, MD.

Norton alleged that he underwent left-knee replacement surgery at Gadsden Regional Medical Center in November 2019. He alleged that a forced-air warming device believed to be a Bair Hugger was used during the surgery and that he later developed a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in his knee. He asserted negligence, strict liability, warranty, and consumer-fraud claims against 3M. He asserted negligence claims against the medical defendants.

After 3M Company and Arizant Healthcare removed the case from Alabama state court, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred it to the District of Minnesota for inclusion in a multidistrict proceeding. Norton moved to remand, meaning to return the case to state court.

Federal jurisdiction and fraudulent joinder

3M relied on diversity jurisdiction, which generally requires an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000 and complete diversity of citizenship between the parties. 3M argued that Norton had fraudulently joined the nondiverse medical defendants. Fraudulent joinder is a jurisdictional doctrine that can allow a federal court to disregard a nondiverse defendant when there is no reasonable factual or legal basis for a claim against that defendant.

The court explained that doubts about federal jurisdiction must be resolved in favor of remand. It also stated that joinder is not fraudulent if state law might impose liability on the resident defendant under the facts alleged, and that a doubtful state-law question should generally be left to the state courts.

3M argued that Norton’s allegations did not provide a reasonable basis for negligence claims against the medical defendants. In particular, 3M argued that Norton had not sufficiently described alleged negligent acts under the Alabama Medical Liability Act and that using the Bair Hugger could not constitute a breach of the applicable standard of care.

The court rejected that argument. It held that 3M had not demonstrated that Norton’s negligence claims against Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Wilson, Northeast Orthopedic Clinic, Rayburn, Carr, and Anesthesia Associates had no reasonable basis in fact and law.

Severance and disposition

3M alternatively asked the court to sever Norton’s claims against the nondiverse defendants, remand those claims, and retain jurisdiction over the claims against 3M. The court had rejected that argument in other cases transferred to the same multidistrict proceeding, and it found that 3M had not shown why a different result was warranted here.

The court therefore granted Norton’s Motion for Remand and remanded Case No. 21-cv-2752 to the Circuit Court of Etowah County, Alabama. The court denied Norton’s request for costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). The order did not decide whether Norton ultimately would prevail on his claims.