Passa v. Derderian
United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
308 F. Supp. 2d 43 (D.R.I. 2004)
A fire ignited by onstage pyrotechnics at a Rhode Island nightclub owned by Derderian (defendant) killed 100 people and injured about 200, including Passa (plaintiff), and numerous victims sued in both state and federal court against many defendants including Derderian, band members, and their manager, who resided in different states; several parties moved to dismiss or remand five of these federal cases for lack of jurisdiction, arguing the MMTJA's mandatory abstention provision should apply since most plaintiffs were Rhode Island residents.
Whether a federal court has jurisdiction under the MMTJA to hear a case with minimal diversity arising from an accident killing at least 75 people, where the majority of all potential plaintiffs and the primary defendants do not reside in the same state.