Originally Posted by
CollegeFlyer
Speaks volumes? But...
1. She sued in federal court, which she could not have done if she had named her husband as a defendant. That would have defeated diversity jurisdiction.
Since we don't know the citizenship of Mr. and Mrs. Shimamoto, I don't think we can make this call. If she is
this Ayisha Shimamoto, she very well may be an American citizen residing in Florida while her husband may be a foreign national residing in Japan. Regardless, more often than not in my practice, it is the plaintiffs' attorneys who want to destroy complete diversity of citizenship to keep a tort claim in state court.
2. If she and her husband share property (e.g. joint bank and investment accounts), suing him is a waste of money. She would be paying her own recovery, and the lawyer would take a cut.
Not to mention, she'd actually be suing the primary tortfeasor. Of course, she should also be suing him for divorce if the spousal abuse is troublesome enough to warrant suing UA for her alleged personal injury damages.