Elizabeth Larue v. West Virginia CVS Pharmacy, LLC, d/b/a CVS/Pharmacy Store ID #6333, and Alyssa Waddell

Summary

The court grants Elizabeth Larue’s motion for leave to file a first amended complaint and grants her motion to remand. The court permits joinder of CVS Pharmacy, Inc., the Roger Boone Family Trust, LLC, and unnamed defendants, concluding that the Trust’s West Virginia citizenship destroys diversity jurisdiction. The case is remanded to the Circuit Court of Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

Holdings

1. Removal was timely because CVS removed the action on August 26, 2025, within thirty days after it was served with the summons and complaint on July 28, 2025.
2. The amount in controversy more likely than not exceeded the jurisdictional minimum.
3. Complete diversity existed at removal because Waddell was improperly joined and her citizenship could be disregarded for jurisdictional purposes.
4. Leave to amend was granted because the equities under § 1447(e) favored permitting Larue to add the proposed defendants, including the diversity-destroying Trust.

Questions Presented

1. Whether removal was timely under 28 U.S.C. § 1446.
2. Whether the amount-in-controversy requirement for diversity jurisdiction was satisfied.
3. Whether complete diversity existed at the time of removal, including whether Waddell was fraudulently joined.
4. Whether the court should permit Larue to amend her complaint after removal to add defendants whose joinder would destroy subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(e).
5. Whether the action should be remanded after permitting the proposed amendment.

Disposition

remanded