Motion to Remand Denied After Judge Decides Plaintiffs Could Not Pursue Claims Against Phentermine Defendants

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has refused to grant a motion to remand a fen-phen products liability action after ruling that the plaintiffs fraudulently joined the manufacturers of phentermine to their action in an attempt to defeat diversity jurisdiction. Dolores Benquist, et al., v. Wyeth Company, f/k/a American Home Products Corporation, et al., No. 02-2850 (E.D. La.).

U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteus, Jr., opined in an order entered Jan. 28 that the plaintiffs had no real intention of pursuing claims against the companies that manufactured phentermine because there is no evidence to suggest that it can cause valvular …