P.K. HOLMES, III, Chief Judge.
Before the Court are Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand (Doc. 12) and brief in support; Defendant American Medical Systems, Inc.'s ("AMS") Response in Opposition
According to the Complaint (Doc. 4), Plaintiff Bertha Wages was implanted with a medical device called the "Perigee" while she was a patient at JRMC. Mrs. Wages alleges that the Perigee device was defective and caused her to suffer present and future bodily injury, pain, and discomfort. On September 11, 2012, Plaintiffs filed suit in Johnson County Circuit Court against Defendants AMS and JRMC, asserting claims for negligence, gross negligence, strict products liability, marketing defects, and design defects related to the Perigee device.
On October 29, 2012, AMS removed the case to this Court, maintaining that JRMC, a citizen of Arkansas, had been fraudulently joined in the state court action by Plaintiffs in order to defeat federal diversity jurisdiction. Plaintiffs then filed the instant Motion to Remand (Doc. 12) on November 13, 2012, denying that JRMC was fraudulently joined and asserting that JRMC is a proper party to this action.
On December 7, 2012, AMS filed a Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand, which JRMC joined, arguing that according to Arkansas products liability law, a hospital facility such as JRMC cannot be held liable as a supplier of an allegedly defective medical device. Further, AMS urges the Court to find that all claims against JRMC would be governed by the Arkansas Medical Malpractice Act, Ark.Code Ann. § 16-114-201, et seq., which has a two-year statute of limitations period. In light of this limitations period, AMS contends that Plaintiffs' claims against non-diverse Defendant JRMC are time-barred pursuant to Arkansas law. (Doc. 18, p. 4). Plaintiffs did not request leave to file a reply to AMS's Response even though Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand failed to address the applicability of the Medical Malpractice Act — and its two-year statute of limitations period — to claims made against JRMC. See Doc. 13, pp. 3-5.
In order to determine whether the Court should retain jurisdiction of this case or remand it to state court, the first issue to address is whether JRMC was fraudulently joined in the state court action. The parties agree that JRMC and Plaintiffs are citizens of Arkansas, while AMS is a citizen of both Delaware, its place of incorporation, and Minnesota, its principal place of business. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1); Docs. 4, 5, and 15. As Plaintiffs and JRMC are both citizens of the same state, JRMC's presence in the litigation defeats federal diversity jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1).
"[A] plaintiff cannot defeat a defendant's `right of removal' by fraudulently joining a defendant who has `no real connection with the controversy.'" Knudson v. Sys. Painters, Inc., 634 F.3d 968, 976 (8th Cir.2011) (quoting Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co. v. Cockrell, 232 U.S. 146, 152, 34 S.Ct. 278, 58 L.Ed. 544 (1914)). Fraudulent joinder occurs when a plaintiff files a frivolous or illegitimate claim against a non-diverse defendant solely to prevent removal. Filla v. Norfolk S. Ry. Co., 336 F.3d 806, 809 (8th Cir.2003). To prove fraudulent joinder, the removing defendant must show that there is no "`reasonable basis for predicting that the state law might impose liability based upon the facts involved.'" Junk v. Terminix Int'l Co., 628 F.3d 439, 446 (8th Cir.2010) (quoting Filla, 336 F.3d at 811). "[A] statute of limitations defense is properly considered in connection with a fraudulent joinder inquiry." Brown v. Jevic, 575 F.3d 322, 327 (3d Cir.2009); see also LeBlang Motors, Ltd. v. Subaru of America, Inc., 148 F.3d 680, 692 (7th Cir.1998); Hunter v.
After due consideration, the Court finds that there is no reasonable basis for predicting that Arkansas law might impose liability on JRMC, since the Arkansas Medical Malpractice Act applies to all of Plaintiffs' claims against JRMC, and the time for asserting these claims has already passed pursuant to the Act's two-year statute of limitations.
The Arkansas Supreme Court interpreting the Medical Malpractice Act has concluded that the Act encompasses all causes of action arising from an injured plaintiff suing a hospital or other health care facility for supplying an allegedly defective medical device during surgery. In Adams v. Arthur, 333 Ark. 53, 969 S.W.2d 598 (1998), a factually similar case to the one at bar, several hospital patients were allegedly injured through the implantation of a defective medical device during surgery. In considering the liability of the hospitals involved, the Adams court held as follows:
Id. at 615.
Subsequent to the Adams ruling, the court clarified in Paulino v. QHG of Springdale, Inc., 2012 Ark. 55, at 9-10, 386 S.W.3d 462 (2012), that a "medical injury" pursuant to the Act is defined as "the result of (1) a professional service, (2) a doctor's treatment or order, or (3) a matter of medical science." Applying that definition to the instant dispute, it is evident that the allegations of wrongdoing made by Plaintiffs against JRMC flow entirely from the "medical injury" sustained by Mrs. Wages during the implantation of the Perigee device as "the result of" "a professional service" delivered by JRMC through its medical staff, pursuant to "a
The Arkansas Products Liability Act, Ark.Code Ann. § 16-116-102, with its three-year statute of limitations, does not trump the Medical Malpractice Act in this case, notwithstanding Plaintiffs' arguments.
Accordingly, as the Court finds that Plaintiffs' claims against JRMC fall within the ambit of the Arkansas Medical Malpractice Act, the Act's two-year statute of limitations governs all claims against this Defendant. Considering that the wrongful act complained of by Plaintiffs took place on December 27, 2005, and a lawsuit was not filed until September 11, 2012, Plaintiffs' claims against JRMC have no reasonable basis for success due to the running of the statute of limitations period. Therefore, the Court finds that JRMC was fraudulently joined in this action and is hereby dismissed with prejudice.
Without the presence of JRMC as a party to this lawsuit, the Court properly retains federal subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand for lack of diversity (Doc. 12) is DENIED.