Patricia Laucella v. Medtronic, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PATRICIA LAUCELLA et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-00466-SB-PVC

Plaintiffs,

v. ORDER DENYING MOTION TO

REMAND [DKT. NO. 36],

MEDTRONIC, INC. et al., GRANTING MEDTRONIC, INC.’S

MOTION TO DISMISS [DKT. NO.

Defendants. 42], AND DENYING AS MOOT

DR. MEAD’S MOTION TO

DISMISS [DKT. NO. 43]

Erik Lomis died of heart failure after his implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) allegedly malfunctioned, failing to deliver the shocks it was designed to provide. Lomis’s widow and daughters filed this products liability action in state court against the ICD’s manufacturer, Medtronic, Inc., and two individual California residents: Kyle Spears, a technical consultant, and Dr. Hardwin Mead, a medical doctor on Medtronic’s Independent Physician Quality Panel. Defendants removed the case, claiming that Spears and Dr. Mead had been fraudulently joined to defeat diversity. Plaintiffs then filed a First Amended Complaint (FAC) that dropped the claims against Spears and expanded the allegations against Medtronic and Dr. Mead. Plaintiffs now move to remand, and Defendants move…