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PSD Wins Dismissal for Insurance Carrier Client that also Prevails on Opposition to Motion for Remand on “Fraudulent Joinder” Theory

Two federal judges in West Virginia have agreed with PSD lawyers and their insurance carrier client, granting a motion to dismiss and denying a motion for remand.  The rulings included that a personal injury plaintiff improperly tried to add the carrier to an underlying medical malpractice case.  Also, the rulings established that an insurance coverage action by the physician was properly removed from state court to federal court based on a finding that the plaintiff “fraudulently joined” a local broker to avoid diversity of citizenship jurisdiction.  The removal papers had also cited to a complete preemption defense under the Federal Liability Risk Retention Act. McNeely v. Soyoola, 2:2012cv08727, S.D. W. Va.;  Soyoola v. Oceanus Insurance Co., et al., No. 2:13-cv-08907, S.D. W.Va.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102519.