Brown v. Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

38 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2014 WL 3864626, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107751
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Alabama
DecidedAugust 5, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 14-0207-WS-B
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 38 F. Supp. 3d 1312 (Brown v. Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 38 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2014 WL 3864626, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107751 (S.D. Ala. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM H. STEELE, Chief Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Remand (doc. 8). The Motion has been briefed and is now ripe for disposition.

I. Background.

Plaintiff, Peyton Powell Brown, brought this action against defendants, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alex Stebbins, in the Circuit Court of Clarke County, Alabama. The Complaint alleged that plaintiff’s decedent, Jason Dewitt Powell, died on March 28, 2012 after crushing and snorting Opana, a tablet form of the prescription painkiller oxymorphone. According to well-pleaded allegations of the Complaint, defendant Endo manufactured these Opana tablets despite knowledge of risks to producing that medication in a form that could be crushed, broken and/or dissolved, thereby releasing high concentrations of oxymorphone and escalating the dangers to the end user. The Complaint alleges that defendant Alex Stebbins (who is alleged to have “previously held a nursing license”) supplied Opana to Powell on March 27, 2012, and that Powell’s ingestion of same caused his death hours later. (See doc. 1, Exh. A, at 9-10.) On the basis of these factual allegations, Brown’s Complaint presented purely state-law claims of negligence and wantonness against Endo and Stebbins, and demanded punitive damages against both defendants pursuant to Alabama’s Wrongful Death Act, as codified at Ala.Code § 6-5-410.1

On May 7, 2014, defendant Endo Pharmaceuticals filed a Notice of Removal (doc. 1), removing this action to federal court. The Notice of Removal alleged that “[t]his Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 (federal question jurisdiction) and 1332 (diversity of citizenship).” (Doc. 1, ¶ 1.) As to the former, Endo contended that Brown’s “claims implicate substantial questions of federal law” because (i) they “involve the design, manufacture and distribution of Opana Tablets, a highly regulated Schedule II controlled narcotic substance” and (ii) they “effectively seek[] to challenge the decision by federal regulatory authorities to authorize the manufacture and distribution of Opana non-crush resistant tablets.” (Id., ¶¶ 30 -33.) As to the latter, Endo’s position was that Brown and Endo were of diverse citizenship, and that Stebbins’ non-diverse citizenship (both Brown and Stebbins are identified in the Complaint as Alabama citizens) may be disregarded because he was fraudulently joined. (Id., ¶¶ 9-17.)

Plaintiff has now filed a Motion for Remand, challenging the existence of federal subject matter jurisdiction (under either a federal question or a diversity theory) and seeking remand of this case to Clarke County. For its part, Endo opposes the Motion, arguing that jurisdiction is proper and, alternatively, asking that plaintiffs claims against Stebbins be severed to create diversity of citizenship as to the remaining claims.

II. Analysis.

A.removing defendant must establish the propriety of removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and, therefore, must demon[1318]*1318strate the existence of federal jurisdiction. See, e.g., Scimone v. Carnival Corp., 720 F.3d 876, 882 (11th Cir.2013) (“the burden of establishing removal jurisdiction rests with the defendant seeking removal”); City of Vestavia Hills v. General Fidelity Ins. Co., 676 F.3d 1310, 1313 n. 1 (11th Cir.2012) (“The removing party bears the burden of proof regarding the existence of federal subject matter jurisdiction.”). This burden applies equally in the context of a motion to remand. See Connecticut State Dental Ass’n v. Anthem Health Plans, Inc., 591 F.3d 1337, 1343 (11th Cir.2009) (“On a motion to remand, the removing party bears the burden of showing the existence of federal subject matter jurisdiction.”). Because removal infringes upon state sovereignty and implicates central concepts of federalism, removal statutes must be construed narrowly, with all jurisdictional doubts being resolved in favor of remand to state court. See, e.g., Scimone, 720 F.3d at 882 (“we strictly construe the right to remove and apply a general presumption against the exercise of federal jurisdiction, such that all uncertainties as to removal jurisdiction are to be resolved in favor of remand”) (citation and internal marks omitted).2

A. Federal Question Jurisdiction.

As an initial matter, Endo asserts in its Notice of Removal that federal jurisdiction lies pursuant to the federal question provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1331. (See doc. 1, ¶¶ 1, 28-33.) Federal courts possess “original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1331. “The test ordinarily applied for determining whether a claim arises under federal law is whether a federal question appears on the face of the plaintiffs well-pleaded complaint.” Connecticut State Dental, 591 F.3d at 1343. Typically, “a defendant may remove on the basis of federal question jurisdiction only where that question appears on the face of the plaintiffs complaint.” Pretka v. Kolter City Plaza II, Inc., 608 F.3d 744, 765 n. 20 (11th Cir.2010). On its face, Brown’s Complaint does not interpose a federal cause of action, nor do any of her claims purport to arise under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States; rather, the enumerated claims sound exclusively in state-law theories of negligence and wantonness.3

That said, even in the absence of a federally created cause of action, “in [1319]*1319limited circumstances, federal-question jurisdiction may also be available if a substantial, disputed question of federal law is a necessary element of a state cause of action.” Jairath v. Dyer, 154 F.3d 1280, 1282 (11th Cir.1998); see also Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Mfg., 545 U.S. 308, 312, 125 S.Ct. 2363, 162 L.Ed.2d 257 (2005) (“a federal court ought to be able to hear claims recognized under state law that nonetheless turn on substantial questions of federal law”). In that regard, the Supreme Court has explained that “federal jurisdiction over a state law claim will lie if a federal issue is: (1) necessarily raised, (2) actually disputed, (3) substantial, and (4) capable of resolution in federal court without disrupting the federal-state balance approved by Congress.” Gunn v. Minton, - U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 1059, 1065, 185 L.Ed.2d 72 (2013).

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38 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2014 WL 3864626, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107751, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-endo-pharmaceuticals-inc-alsd-2014.