Opinion
4:24-CV-00326-BSM
07-26-2024
STEVEN CARRICK PLAINTIFF v. MILE HIGH EQUIPMENT, LLC, et al. DEFENDANTS
ORDER
Steven Carrick's amended complaint [Doc. No. 5] is stricken, Carrick's motion to remand [Doc. No. 13] is denied, and Refrigeration and Electric Supply Co.'s (“R & E”) motion to dismiss Carrick's amended complaint [Doc. No. 19] is moot. The clerk is directed to terminate R & E as a party, and Carrick's original complaint [Doc. No. 2] is the operative complaint.
Carrick sued Mile High Equipment, LLC and Ali Group North America Corporation in state court for injuries sustained after he slipped and fell on a wet surface caused by a leaky ice machine. See Compl. at 1-7, Doc. No. 2. Mile High Equipment and Ali Group removed on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. See Notice of Removal ¶¶ 8-13, Doc. No. 1. Four days later, Carrick amended his complaint to add R & E, an Arkansas defendant. Am. Compl. at 2, Doc. No. 5. Carrick then moved for remand based on lack of complete diversity, Doc. No. 13, and R & E moved to dismiss the amended complaint, Doc. No. 19.
Carrick's amended complaint is stricken and remand is denied because R & E is improperly joined. This is true because Carrick did not obtain leave of court to add R & E. See Coleman v. Little River Med. Ctr Inc., No. 4:20-CV-4053, 2021 WL 1181723, at *1 (W.D. Ark. Mar. 29, 2021) (leave of court is required to amend a complaint adding diversity-destroying defendant). Moreover, the declaration of the president of the ice machine's manufacturer states that R & E neither supplied, serviced, nor installed the ice machine at issue herein. See Declaration of Erica Motes, Doc. No. 14-2; Wilkinson v. Whirlpool Corp., No. 2:13-CV-02228, 2014 WL 98801, at *3 (W.D. Ark. Jan. 10, 2014) (courts may examine affidavits and other documents beyond the complaint when deciding fraudulent joinder claims). Carrick has provided no evidence that genuinely disputes this. Therefore, R & E is not a necessary and indispensable party.
IT IS SO ORDERED.