Farm Bureau General Insurance Co. of Michigan v. Sloman

871 N.E.2d 324, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 1729, 2007 WL 2199220
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 2, 2007
Docket20A03-0609-CV-432
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 871 N.E.2d 324 (Farm Bureau General Insurance Co. of Michigan v. Sloman) 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
Farm Bureau General Insurance Co. of Michigan v. Sloman, 871 N.E.2d 324, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 1729, 2007 WL 2199220 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

VAIDIK, Judge.

Case Summary

Farm Bureau General Insurance Company of Michigan (“Farm Bureau”) sought this interlocutory appeal after the trial court denied its motion for summary judgment regarding whether Farm Bureau’s forum selection clause negated Elkhart County, Indiana, as a proper venue for Robert M. Sloman’s suit against Farm Bureau and whether Sloman failed to provide Farm Bureau with specific written notice of his uninsured motorist claim within the one-year contractual limitations period. Finding that Farm Bureau’s forum selection clause, under the circumstances, is unjust and unreasonable and that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Farm Bureau was provided with written notice of Sloman’s uninsured motorist claim within one-year of the accident, as required by his policy, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Facts and Procedural History

On the evening of August 24, 2003, Slo-man and Janet S. Lund were involved in an automobile accident after Lund merged directly in front of Sloman while driving east in the right hand lane on County Road 6 in Elkhart, Indiana. At the time of the accident, Sloman was insured under a family auto insurance policy with Farm Bureau. Lund was uninsured at the time of the accident. Within two days after the accident, Sloman provided Farm Bureau with a Personal Auto Loss Report and a copy of the Indiana Officer’s Standard Crash Report that indicated that Lund did not have automobile insurance. Sloman’s Farm Bureau agent, Pete Fichtner, filled out the Personal Auto Loss Report and circled the word “None,” emphasizing that Lund did not have insurance. Appellant’s App. p. 109. Sloman purchased his policy from a Farm Bureau office located in Cass County, Michigan. Sloman’s policy was governed by Michigan’s No-Fault Act and contained uninsured motorist coverage. The no-fault portion of the policy entitled Sloman to receive payments from Farm Bureau for medical expenses and/or lost wages. The uninsured motorist coverage provided for payment of compensatory damages that an insured was legally entitled to recover from the owner or driver of an uninsured automobile.

On October 2, 2003, Sloman’s attorney, Anthony Zappia (“Attorney Zappia”), noti *327 fied Farm Bureau of his representation of Sloman. Moreover, on January 26, 2004, March 23, 2004, July 21, 2004, and August 20, 2004, Attorney Zappia sent letters to Farm Bureau regarding coverage under Michigan’s No-Fault Act. The letters did not expressly refer to a potential claim under the uninsured motorist provision of Sloman’s policy. On May 20, 2005, Sloman offered to settle his claim with Farm Bureau regarding his medical expenses, special damages, and loss of enjoyment of life sustained as a result of the accident. In response, Farm Bureau stated in a letter to Attorney Zappia that Sloman’s recovery from Farm Bureau was limited under Michigan’s No-Fault Act to expenses incurred and that it would not settle claims for special damages and loss of enjoyment of life under the uninsured motorist portion of the policy. That provision includes the following Contractual Limitations Clause:

3. Time Limitation for Action Against Us
Any person seeking Uninsured Motorist Coverage must:
a. present the claim for compensatory damages in compliance with the terms and conditions of this coverage and policy; and
b. present to us a written notice of the claim for Uninsured Motorist Coverage within one year after the accident occurs.
A suit against us for Uninsured Motorist Coverage may not be commenced later than one year after the accident that caused the injuries being claimed, unless there has been full compliance with all the conditions of this coverage and the policy.

Id. at 44. Farm Bureau denied Sloman’s claim apparently because it believed that Sloman had failed to provide it with written notice of his uninsured motorist claim within one year of the accident in accordance with the Contractual Limitations Clause. After Farm Bureau denied his uninsured motorist claim, Sloman filed his initial Complaint For Damages (“Complaint”) in Elkhart Superior Court No. 2 against Lund and Farm Bureau. 1

Also contained within the uninsured motorist provision of Sloman’s Farm Bureau policy is the following forum selection clause:

6. Location of Action Against Us
Any court action for any dispute regarding coverage under this Part, or any dispute regarding whether a person is entitled to recover compensatory damages, or as to the amount of those damages must take place in the venue of the county and state in which this policy was purchased.

Id. at 45. Based on this provision, Farm Bureau filed “Defendant Farm Bureau’s Trial Rule 12(B)(6) Motion To Dismiss Or, In The Alternative, Motion For Summary Judgment.” Id. at 56. This motion first asserted that venue in Elkhart County, Indiana, was improper and that Cass County, Michigan, where Sloman purchased the policy, is the proper venue. Farm Bureau also asserted that it is entitled to summary judgment because Sloman failed to timely file a written notice of claim for uninsured motorist coverage within the prescribed one-year contractual limitations period. The trial court denied both parts of Farm Bureau’s Motion in an Order stating “[pjarties appear for sum *328 mary judgment. Hearing held. The court finds that it is not well taken and motion for summary judgment is denied in both parts.” 2 Id. at 9. Farm Bureau’s interlocutory appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision

Farm Bureau raises two issues on appeal. First, Farm Bureau contends that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment and allowing Sloman’s suit to continue against Farm Bureau in Indiana because the forum selection clause contained within Sloman’s policy is just and reasonable and its terms were freely negotiated. Second, Farm Bureau contends that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment because Sloman is not entitled to uninsured motorist coverage because he failed to provide Farm Bureau with written notice of his claim for uninsured motorist coverage within the one-year time limit required under the terms of his policy.

When reviewing the correctness of a ruling on a motion for summary judgment, this Court applies the same standard as the trial court. Atl. Coast Airlines v. Cook, 857 N.E.2d 989, 994 (Ind.2006). A party seeking summary judgment must show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. Our review of a summary judgment motion is limited to the materials designated to the trial court. Id. We must construe the evidence in favor of the non-moving party and resolve all doubts against the moving party. Id.

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871 N.E.2d 324, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 1729, 2007 WL 2199220, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farm-bureau-general-insurance-co-of-michigan-v-sloman-indctapp-2007.