Opinion ID: 522203
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pendent-Party Jurisdiction

Text: 36 The appellant's final argument is that the district court erred in refusing to exercise pendent-party jurisdiction over the medical claims. We review such a district court ruling under an abuse of discretion standard. See Feigler v. Tidex, Inc., 826 F.2d 1435, 1439 (5th Cir.1987). Although a court has discretion to exercise jurisdiction over state law claims derived from a common nucleus of operative fact, 10 we do not find the district court abused its discretion. The doctors were impleaded two and one-half years after the filing of the admiralty claims, and the court noted that Louisiana has a comprehensive medical malpractice act under which the action against them may still be filed, even today. The district court's discretion is especially broad when the underlying federal claim is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, and the district court here acted well within its sound discretion.