Brown Sims Secures Federal Court Win Denying Remand and Dismissing Landlord
We’re proud to share a recent win in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
This case arose from a tragic drowning incident at a workout facility. Plaintiff sued both an out-of-state defendant and a Texas-based landlord, attempting to defeat diversity jurisdiction and keep the case in state court. We removed the case and opposed remand, arguing that the landlord had been improperly joined because there was no viable basis for liability under Texas law.
The Court agreed.
Applying the Fifth Circuit’s improper joinder framework under Smallwood v. Illinois Central Railroad Co., the Court looked beyond conclusory allegations and focused on whether Plaintiff could actually recover against the in-state defendant. The record showed that the tenant(client)—not the landlord—had exclusive control over pool operations, safety, and day-to-day management. There was no evidence that the landlord designed, operated, or controlled the pool, or had any involvement in the alleged incident.
Based on that undisputed evidence, the Court denied Plaintiff’s motion to remand and dismissed the landlord from the case, finding no reasonable basis for recovery.
This ruling reinforces an important principle: under Texas law, liability in premises cases turns on control—not mere ownership. It also highlights that federal courts will not allow plaintiffs to rely on boilerplate allegations of “control” to defeat federal jurisdiction where the evidence tells a different story.
From a strategic standpoint, this was a significant early win—keeping the case in federal court and narrowing the parties at the outset.
Great work by the team in securing this result.
