California Dump Truck Owners Ass'n v. Cummins Engine Co.

MEMORANDUM *

Appellants, a number of trucking companies, appeal the district court’s order granting judgment on the pleadings. Included in their appeal is a challenge to the district court’s denial of plaintiffs’ motion to remand the case to state court on the ground that the federal court lacked jurisdiction. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review a district court’s denial of a motion to remand de novo. We reverse and remand with instructions.

As the parties point out, this circuit has not addressed the issue of “fraudulent” or “egregious” joinder of plaintiffs for the purpose of defeating diversity jurisdiction in the federal courts. Other courts have held that plaintiffs may be fraudulently joined if “there is no possibility that [plaintiff] would be able to establish a cause of action against defendants] in state court.” 1 The Eleventh Circuit has recognized the additional theory of egregious misjoinder, where the claims of non-diverse plaintiffs have no real connection or nexus to the claims of the diverse plaintiffs. 2 For purposes of discussion we will assume, without deciding, that this circuit would accept the doctrines of fraudulent and…