Jeremy Skidmore sued his former Sonoco Products Company supervisors Michael Schinke and Gail Saul in Virginia state court, alleging they retaliated against him in 2022 for complaining about overtime compensation violations. Skidmore claimed the defendants violated Virginia's wage disclosure protection law by terminating him after he reported compensation issues to management and corporate officials.
The Fourth Circuit found the district court applied too strict a standard when analyzing fraudulent joinder, emphasizing that showing 'no possibility' of a claim is a 'heavy burden.' Judge Paul Quattlebaum wrote that while Skidmore's claim 'might not be strong' and 'might even be the legal equivalent of a half-court shot,' the court couldn't say it was impossible for a Virginia court to allow a Bowman wrongful termination claim based on wage disclosure retaliation.
The defendants had removed the case to federal court, arguing Schinke was fraudulently joined to destroy diversity jurisdiction since both he and Skidmore were Virginia citizens. The Western District of Virginia's Judge Robert Ballou agreed, finding Virginia's wage disclosure statute contained exclusive enforcement mechanisms that precluded private Bowman claims, and dismissed the entire case for failure to state a claim.
The case returns to district court for further analysis of whether fraudulent joinder exists on other grounds not previously considered. The ruling highlights the tension between federal courts' limited diversity jurisdiction and defendants' efforts to keep employment disputes in federal court through fraudulent joinder arguments.