Larry James Christopher Thompson v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

NATHANIEL R. JONES, Circuit Judge.

This appeal presents the issue of whether actions filed in state court are properly removable to federal court if the complaints allege in part that the defendant violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and that this violation constituted “a rebut-table presumption of negligence.” Plaintiffs-appellants contend that these cases presented no federal question upon which removal could be properly based. We agree and reverse and remand.

Plaintiffs-appellants, the Thompsons and the MacTavishes, are residents of Scotland and Canada respectively. They filed their…