American Economy Insurance Co. v. Felts

759 N.E.2d 649, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 2104, 2001 WL 1552716
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 6, 2001
Docket43A04-0103-CV-123
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 759 N.E.2d 649 (American Economy Insurance Co. v. Felts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Economy Insurance Co. v. Felts, 759 N.E.2d 649, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 2104, 2001 WL 1552716 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellant-defendant American Eeonomy Insurance Company (American Economy) appeals the trial court's dismissal of its declaratory judgment action against Genia Fox, Michael Felts, USAA Casualty Insurance Company (USAA Casualty), and Madison Mutual Insurance Company (Madison Mutual). More specifically, American Economy contends that the trial court should not have dismissed on the basis of personal jurisdiction because the trial court bas personal jurisdiction over three of the defendants. American Economy also asserts that no dismissal should have been granted on the basis of forum non conveniens, comity, or the appropriateness of declaratory relief.

FACTS

Fox, an Ilinois resident, purchased a van from an automotive dealership in St. Louis, Missouri. The dealership could not perform the customizing work Fox wanted, so it recommended that she take her van to Bodor Corporation d/b/a Explorer Vans in Warsaw, Indiana. On June 19, 1999, Fox and Felts, her boyfriend who is also *653 an Illinois resident, drove her newly purchased van to Bodor Corporation for the customizing work. Upon receiving Fox's van, Bodor Corporation provided a loaner van for Fox and Felts. On the return trip to Illinois, Felts drove the van off the road, injuring Fox who rode as a passenger. The accident occurred in Kosciusko County, Indiana.

Less than five months later, Fox filed a personal injury action against Felts in Illinois. Shortly thereafter, on August 28, 2000, Fox filed a declaratory judgment action in Illinois against Felts, USAA Casualty, Madison Mutual, and American Economy. According to her declaratory claim, Fox sought a finding on the existence and priorities of all liability coverage available to her as a result of the automobile accident. USAA Casualty provided Felts bodily-injury | lability coverage. Madison Mutual provided Fox bodily-injury liability coverage. American Economy insured the van, which the Bodor Corporation loaned Fox and Felts, under an Indiana garage liability policy. '

On October 6, 2000, American Economy filed a complaint for declaratory relief in the Kosciusko Cireuit Court. American Economy requested that the trial court enter a judgment declaring that it did not owe insurance coverage to any of the ap-pellees "for any reason arising out of the automobile accident." Appellant's App. at 197. In response, Fox filed a motion to dismiss, asserting: 1) the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over her; 2) American Economy's complaint for declaratory relief was inappropriate; and 3) a case involving the same parties, facts, and insurance policies was already pending in an Illinois court. Madison Mutual also filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over it and that principles of comity favored dismissal. Soon thereafter, USAA filed its own motion to dismiss contending that: 1) the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over it; 2) American Eeonomy's complaint for declaratory relief was inappropriate; 3) Tllinois was a more convenient forum; and 4) principles of comity favored dismissal. Felts joined Fox's and USAA's motions to dismiss.

After conducting a hearing on the motions, the Kosciusko Cireuit Court granted the motions to dismiss filed by all the defendants. In so doing, the trial court dismissed the action with prejudice without explanation. American Economy now appeals the dismissal of its declaratory action.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

The trial court did not state the reasons for its dismissal of American Economy's declaratory action. Where a trial court does not state the reasons for dismissal in its entry of judgment, the appellate court must presume that the trial court granted a motion to dismiss for all the reasons argued in the motion. Constantine v. City-County Council of Marion County, 267 Ind. 279, 281, 369 N.E.2d 636, 638 (1977); Ind. & Mich. Elec. Co. v. Terre Haute Indus., Inc., 467 N.E.2d 37, 40 (Ind.Ct.App.1984). Therefore, in our review of the dismissal, we will examine each motion to dismiss for support of the trial court's decision.

I. Personal Jurisdiction

Each appellee argued that the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over it. Personal jurisdiction is "'a court's power to bring a person into its adjudicative process' and render a valid judgment over a person." Anthem Ins. Cos. v. Tenet Healtheare Corp., 730 N.E.2d 1227, 1230 (Ind.2000) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 857 (7th ed. 1999)). Therefore, before addressing other potential reasons for *654 dismissal of American Economy's action-comity, forum non conveniens, and inappropriateness of declaratory relief-we first determine whether the trial court had personal jurisdiction over each defendant. See Freemond v. Somma, 611 N.E.2d 684, 690 n. 3 (Ind.Ct.App.1993) (holding that trial court erred when it concluded that it did not have personal jurisdiction and then dismissed the action based on forum non conveniens), trans. demied; cf. In re Marriage of Rinderknecht, 174 Ind.App. 382, 394 n. 11, 367 N.E.2d 1128, 11300006 n. 11 (1977) ("The court should first hear and determine the issues of personal jurisdiction. If the court should determine that it does in fact have personal jurisdiction over the defendant, the case should proceed for a trial on the merits.").

We review a trial court's determination of personal jurisdiction de novo. Anthem, 730 N.E.2d at 1237. In determining whether it has personal jurisdiction, a trial court should engage in a two-step analysis. First, the court must resolve whether the conduct falls under the long-arm statute. Id. at 1232. Second, if the conduct falls under the long-arm statute, the court must determine whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction comports with the Due Process Clause as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court and courts of this state. Id. at 1233. The defendant bears the burden of proving the trial court's lack of personal jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. at 1231.

Our long-arm statute identifies several ways a person submits to the jurisdiction of Indiana courts.

Any person or organization that is a nonresident of this state, a resident of this state who has left the state, or a person whose residence is unknown, submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state as to any action arising from the following acts committed by him or her or his or her agent:
(1) doing any business in this state;
(2) causing personal injury or property damage by an act or omission done within this state;

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
759 N.E.2d 649, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 2104, 2001 WL 1552716, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-economy-insurance-co-v-felts-indctapp-2001.