Guaranteed Systems, Inc. v. American National Can Co.
United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
842 F. Supp. 855 (1994)
Guaranteed Systems (plaintiff), a North Carolina company, sued American National Can Co. (National Can) (defendant), a Delaware company, in state court for unpaid construction work; National Can removed on diversity grounds and counterclaimed for negligent performance. Guaranteed then impleaded its subcontractor, HydroVac, under Rule 14(b), seeking indemnity or contribution if National Can won its counterclaim; HydroVac moved to dismiss, arguing it was not diverse from Guaranteed and the court therefore lacked supplemental jurisdiction over the third-party claim.
Whether 28 U.S.C. § 1367 prohibits a federal court whose jurisdiction rests on diversity from exercising supplemental jurisdiction over a plaintiff's claim against a nondiverse third party impleaded under Rule 14.