Axis Insurance v. Hall

287 F.R.D. 110, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166171, 2012 WL 5879136
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedNovember 21, 2012
DocketNo. 1:12-cv-00166-JAW
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 287 F.R.D. 110 (Axis Insurance v. Hall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Axis Insurance v. Hall, 287 F.R.D. 110, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166171, 2012 WL 5879136 (D. Me. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS

JOHN A. WOODCOCK, JR., Chief Judge.

In this subrogation action, an insurance company filed a complaint against a contractor for property damage to a school. The insurance company paid the school district $253,716.78 for the loss and seeks to recover that amount from the contractor; the school district allegedly sustained an additional uninsured loss of $5,000.00. The contractor moves to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil [112]*112Procedure 12(b)(7) for failure to join the school district under Rule 19. The contractor claims that the school district is a necessary and indispensable party, and contends that the school district cannot be joined because doing so would destroy the Court’s diversity jurisdiction. Reviewing the specific facts in this case and applying pragmatic considerations, the Court agrees with the contractor that the school district is a necessary and indispensable party under Rule 19 and dismisses the lawsuit without prejudice to allow the insurer to proceed in state court.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Procedural History

On May 21, 2012, Axis Insurance Company (Axis), as subrogee of RSU # 9, filed suit in this Court against Mark C. Hall. Compl. (ECF No. 1). Mr. Hall moved to dismiss the Complaint on July 19, 2012, for failure to join a necessary party under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(7). Def.’s Mot to Dismiss (ECF No. 5)(Def.’s Mot). Axis responded on August 7, 2012. Pl. Axis Ins. Co.’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss (ECF No. 7)(Pl.’s Opp’n). Mr. Hall replied on August 21, 2012. Def.’s Reply in Support of Mot. to Dismiss (ECF No. 8)(Def.’s Reply).

B. The Allegations in the Complaint

Axis alleges that it is an insurance company organized and existing under the laws of the state of Illinois with a usual place of business in Chicago, Illinois, and that Mark C. Hall is a resident of Portland, Maine. Compl. ¶ ¶ 1, 3. Axis says it insured RSU # 9’s property in Farmington, Maine, namely Mount Blue High School, and claims that as a result of Mr. Hall’s negligent work as a subcontractor at the high school, Axis was required to reimburse RSU # 9 for property damage. Id. ¶¶ 2,10-11. Axis asserts federal diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Id. ¶ 5.

II. THE PARTIES’ POSITIONS

A. Mr. Hall’s Motion

Mr. Hall maintains that RSU # 9 — as a subrogor with a deductible — is a necessary and indispensable party whose joinder would destroy the Court’s diversity jurisdiction because RSU # 9 is a Maine school district and Mr. Hall a Maine resident. Def.’s Mot. at 1-2, 4-9. Mr. Hall says that Axis claims that the total loss amount was $258,716.78, but that Axis paid RSU # 9 $253,716.78 (the total loss amount minus a $5,000 deductible) and is pursuing only the subrogated loss amount in this proceeding, leaving RSU # 9 with an unasserted $5,000 claim. Id. at 2.

B. Axis’s Opposition

Axis disagrees that RSU # 9 is a necessary and indispensable party under Rule 19(a). PI. ’s Opp’n at 3-7. Axis reads United States v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, 338 U.S. 366, 70 S.Ct. 207, 94 L.Ed. 171 (1949), as holding that an insured is “clearly not” an indispensable party where the insurer is only partially subrogated to the insured’s rights. PI. ’s Opp’n at 4. Axis applies a four-factor test for determining indispensability and concludes that RSU # 9 is not an indispensable party under that test. Id. at 4-7.

C. Mr. Hall’s Reply

Mr. Hall argues that Axis’s interpretation of Aetna fails to acknowledge that the case held that in partial subrogation cases, both the subrogor and subrogee are necessary parties. Def.’s Reply at 1-2. Mr. Hall points out that Rule 19 has been amended since Aetna was decided in 1949 and asserts that the amendments to the Rule “made it clear that Rule 19(b) determinations must be based on pragmatic considerations.” Id. at 2. Applying those considerations, Mr. Hall contends that the Court should dismiss the lawsuit and allow Axis to proceed in state court. Id. at 2-3.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Legal Framework

1. Rules 12(b)(7) and 19

“Where a party required under Rule 19 has not been joined, a party may move for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(7).” Cabrera-Morales v. UBS Trust Co., 769 F.Supp.2d 67, 70 (D.P.R.2011). In Jimenez v. Rodriguez-[113]*113Pagan, 597 F.3d 18 (1st Cir.2010), the First Circuit explained the purpose of Rule 19 and provided instruction on how to apply the Rule:

Rule 19 is designed to protect the interests of parties who are not yet involved in ongoing litigation. To measure how critical those interests are, the rule instructs courts to engage in a two-part analysis. Parties should be joined, when feasible, if they are “necessary” to the action according to the criteria laid out in Rule 19(a). If a necessary party cannot be joined in the action without divesting the court of subject-matter jurisdiction, Rule 19(b) lays out additional criteria for determining whether the party is “indispensable.” If the court finds that party is anything less than indispensable, the case proceeds without her. If, on the other hand, the court finds that the litigation cannot proceed in the party’s absence, the court must dismiss the case.

Id. at 25 (internal citation omitted).

The Jimenez Court expanded upon the meaning of “necessary” under Rule 19:

The term ‘necessary’ is a vestige of a superseded version of Rule 19 and no longer appears in the text.... Lest there be any confusion, the word is used as a term of art and signifies desirability rather than actual necessity. Parties are not truly necessary in the vernacular sense of the word unless and until they satisfy the terms of Rule 19(b).

Id. at 25 n. 3 (internal punctuation omitted).

The term “indispensable” has similarly been removed from the text of Rule 19, but courts still use it as shorthand for whether dismissal under Rule 19(b) is warranted. The “critical question” under Rule 19(b)— and thus the key to whether a party is “indispensable” — is “‘whether in equity and good conscience’ the action may proceed in [the party’s] absence.” B. Fernandez & HNOS, Inc. v. Kellogg USA, Inc., 516 F.3d 18, 23 (1st Cir.2008)(quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 19(b)). Rule 19(b) provides four non-exhaustive factors for the trial court to consider in determining whether a party is indispensable:

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Bluebook (online)
287 F.R.D. 110, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166171, 2012 WL 5879136, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/axis-insurance-v-hall-med-2012.