Preemption Argument Fails to Derail Claims Against DePuy ASR Hip Distributor

TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge has rejected a defendant’s preemption-based fraudulent joinder argument on her way to determining that a state court should decide whether a distributor can be held liable under Florida law for injuries allegedly caused by a failed DePuy ASR Hip System implant.

In an Oct. 22 opinion, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida said that the defendants failed to identify any conflicting legal duties alleged by the plaintiffs that could support an argument for federal preemption of claims against the distributor. As a result, she remanded …