UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ APPALACHIAN REGIONAL HEALTHCARE, INC., │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 21-5994 │ v. │ │ U.S. NURSING CORPORATION, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Pikeville. No. 7:14-cv-00122—Karen K. Caldwell, District Judge.

Decided and Filed: May 18, 2023

Before: MOORE, CLAY, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges.

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COUNSEL ON BRIEF: Byron N. Miller, Joseph A. Wright, THOMPSON, MILLER & SIMPSON, PLC, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellant. Barry Hunter, Medrith Lee Norman, FROST BROWN TODD LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

CLAY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc. sued Defendant U.S. Nursing Corporation for indemnity in this diversity of citizenship action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Appalachian sought reimbursement for costs it incurred to a settle a lawsuit initiated by a patient whose injuries were allegedly exacerbated by the nursing staff provided to Appalachian’s hospital facility by U.S. Nursing. Appalachian prevailed at trial, and U.S. No. 21-5994 Appalachian Reg’l Healthcare v. U.S. Nursing Corp. Page 2

Nursing now appeals the district court’s order denying its request for a new trial. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Appalachian runs Whitesburg ARH Hospital in Whitesburg, Kentucky (“Hospital”). In 2007, Hospital nurses went on strike. In response to that strike, Appalachian entered into an agreement with U.S. Nursing through which U.S. Nursing agreed to provide the Hospital with nursing staff during the strike (“Agreement”). Under the Agreement, U.S. Nursing agreed to indemnify and defend Appalachian for the negligence of any of its employees assigned to the Hospital.

The instant case arose in connection with an underlying state court action. That underlying action stemmed from a horrific injury that Ralph Profitt sustained while working at a sawmill in 2007. After he was hurt, two of Profitt’s colleagues, David English and Ken Jaworski, transported Profitt to the Hospital. Profitt alleged that his injuries were exacerbated by a nurse who moved him from a car into the emergency room without first stabilizing and immobilizing him. Although the identity of that nurse is contested, there is no dispute that the nurse was female.

B. Procedural History

1. The Underlying State Court Action

Profitt and his wife sued Appalachian, U.S. Nursing, and the three nurses who staffed the emergency room on the night he arrived at the Hospital. Two of those nurses, Sheila Hurt and Roxanna Parsons, were Appalachian employees. The other nurse, Constance Foote, worked for U.S. Nursing. Through his amended complaint, Profitt asserted that Appalachian was vicariously liable for all three nurses’ actions, and that U.S. Nursing was