Allianz Suisse Versicherungs-Gesellschaft v. Miller

24 F. Supp. 3d 670, 2014 WL 2533841, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76890
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedJune 5, 2014
DocketCase No. 1:12-CV-1250
StatusPublished

This text of 24 F. Supp. 3d 670 (Allianz Suisse Versicherungs-Gesellschaft v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allianz Suisse Versicherungs-Gesellschaft v. Miller, 24 F. Supp. 3d 670, 2014 WL 2533841, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76890 (W.D. Mich. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

GORDON J. QUIST, District Judge.

INDEX

[672]*672I. BaCKGRound.672

A. The National League Proceedings.672

B. The Criminal Proceedings.673

C. The Criminal Appeals .673

D. The Civil Case.674

II. Discussion.1.675

. A. Repugnant to Public Policy..676

B. Compatibility with Due Process.679

III. CONCLUSION.680

Plaintiff, Allianz Suisse Versicherungs-Gesellschaft, a Swiss insurance company, as subrogee of Andrew McKim, has sued Defendant, Kevin Miller, seeking recognition and enforcement of a foreign country judgment pursuant to the Uniform Foreign-Country Judgments Recognition Act, M.C.L.A. § 691.1131 et seq. In particular, Allianz seeks to enforce a Judgment it obtained' against Miller in the District Court of Zurich, Switzerland on March 29, 2010. Zurich has filed a motion for summary judgment requesting entry of an order recognizing the Judgment as conclusive between the parties and enforceable in Michigan. In response, Miller has filed his own motion for summary judgment, arguing that the Court should decline to recognize the Judgment because it is contrary to the public policy of the State of Michigan and violative of the requirements of due process of law.

For the reasons stated in this Opinion, the Court will grant Allianz’s motion, deny Miller’s motion, and enter an order recognizing the Judgment as valid and enforceable under Michigan law.

I. Background

Miller, a citizen of the United States and the State of Michigan, is and a former professional hockey player. During the 2000-01 season, Miller played for HC Da-vos in the Switzerland National Hockey League. On October 31, 2000, during a game with the ZSC Lions, Miller “checked” Lions player McKim from behind after McKim took a shot, hitting McKim in the head and neck. (Dkt. # 40-2 at Page ID 397.) As a result, McKim fell and hit his head on the ice. McKim suffered a non-localized concussion and other injuries, and was hospitalized for several weeks.. Miller received a five-minute penalty and a playing-time disciplinary penalty. (Dkt. # 1-3 at Page ID 9-10.)

A. The National League Proceedings

Following the incident, at the request of the ZSC Lions, the National League Tribunal commenced proceedings to review whether further disciplinary action should be imposed against Miller. (Id at Page ID 10.) On November 15, 2000, the single judge assigned to review the incident determined that Miller violated IIHF Regulation 603 (intentional or potentially malicious injury or attempted injury) and imposed an eight game suspension and a fine. HC Davos appealed the ruling, but the appeal was rejected by the Appeals Chamber of the National League on December 16, 2000. (Id) Miller was not a party to the National League Tribunal proceedings, and the Tribunal did not interview him or ask him questions. (Dkt. #45-2 at Page ID 585, ¶9.) HC Davos essentially controlled the proceedings, and its primary concern was concluding them in an expeditious manner so that Miller could resume playing before the playoffs. [673]*673{Id. ¶¶ 10-11.) At the insistence of the President of HC Davos, Miller waived his appeal of the Tribunal’s decision. {Id. ¶ 12.) At the time, Miller was unaware that the Tribunal’s decision could be used against him subsequently in criminal or civil proceedings. {Id. ¶ 13.)

B. The Criminal Proceedings

On December 10, 2004, the Public Prosecutor’s Office Division IV of the Canton of Zurich charged Miller criminally with malicious simple bodily injury and grievous bodily injury. The Zurich court invited Miller and his attorney to review the video recordings of the October 31, 2000 incident. (Dkt. # 41-1 at Page ID 491.) Pri- or 'to trial, Miller’s counsel viewed the recordings and furnished slow motion images to the court. {Id.) The trial was held August 29, 2005. Miller attended the trial and was permitted to testify. Miller admitted that he checked McKim, injuring him “at least lightly,” but denied that his actions resulted in the serious injuries that McKim sustained when he hit his head on the ice. {Id. at Page ID 493.) The court requested expert opinions from two independent sources, Gerhard Müller, who evaluated the video, and Dr. med. R. Agosti, a medical expert who opined on the injuries that McKim sustained and the causal relationship of the “check” to the injuries. Both of the independent experts submitted reports to the court. Although Miller’s counsel was not permitted to examine the independent experts, the court rules permitted Miller’s counsel to submit written questions to Gerhard Müller and Dr. Agosti requesting clarification of their opinions. (Dkt. #41 at Page ID. 477.) Miller’s counsel sent written questions to Dr. Agosti. {Id.) It is unclear whether Miller’s counsel also sent written questions to Gerhard Müller.1 Miller submitted opinions from his own experts, including Klaus Schilling, who answered the same questions as independent expert Gerhard Müller, and Brian P. Burke, the .President and General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks. (Dkt. # 41 at Page ID 474-75, ¶ 20; dkt. # 41-3 at Page ID 512-17.)

On September 20, 2005, the criminal court issued a 36-page decision finding Miller guilty of simple bodily harm, intentional bodily harm, and gross negligence. The court also found Miller 100 percent responsible for McKim’s injuries. (Dkt. # 41 at Page ID 475, ¶ 21.) In explaining its decision, the criminal court accepted expert Gerhard Müller’s testimony as consistent with the video evidence and concluded that Miller could and should have avoided the collision but instead intended to deliver the blow to McKim. (Dkt. # 41-1 at Page ID, 499-500.) The court rejected Miller’s account as not credible and disregarded the testimony of Miller’s witnesses, including his experts, as biased or irrelevant.2 (Dkt. # 41-2 at Page ID 502.)

C. The Criminal Appeals

Miller appealed the guilty verdict to the Court of Appeals for the Canton of Zurich, which accepted Miller’s legal analysis and interpretation of the evidence and found Miller not guilty. McKim then appealed [674]*674the acquittal to the Swiss Federal Court (Switzerland’s highest court). On October 24, 2007, the Federal Court reversed the Zurich Court of Appeals and remanded for reconsideration consistent with the Federal Court’s October 24, 2007 decision. (Dkt. # 41 at Page ID 475-766.) Following the remand, the Court of Appeals issued a 31-page decision on April 3, 2008, finding Miller guilty of criminal -minor bodily harm and criminal negligent bodily harm and determining that Miller was 100% liable for McKim’s injuries. (Dkt. # 1-3 at Page ID 91.) In reaching its decision, the Court of Appeals relied on details and information that Miller provided, as well as the expert opinions of Miller’s experts, Schilling and Burke. The court rejected independent expert Gerhard Muller’s conclusion that Miller acted out of frustration. (Dkt.

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Bluebook (online)
24 F. Supp. 3d 670, 2014 WL 2533841, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76890, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allianz-suisse-versicherungs-gesellschaft-v-miller-miwd-2014.