Hulse v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

Opinion

The Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Plaintiff, No. 2:19-cv-01453-RSM v. STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE ON STIPULATED MOTION TO INSURANCE COMPANY, a Foreign BIFURCATE AND STAY PLAINTIFF’S Corporation, and ALLSTATE INSURANCE EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL CLAIMS COMPANY, a Foreign Corporation,

Defendants.

Plaintiff Debbie Hulse and defendants State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”) and Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstate”), through their respective attorneys of record, stipulate to and ask the Court to enter an order bifurcating and staying discovery and trial of plaintiff’s claims for breach of contract, alleged bad faith, negligence, and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”) and the Insurance Fair Conduct Act (“IFCA”) (hereafter collectively referred to as “extra contractual claims”) asserted against both State Farm and Allstate in connection with the handling of plaintiff’s underinsured motorist (“UIM”) claims,

STIPULATED MOTION AND AGREED ORDER TO BIFURCATE KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. AND STAY PLAINTIFFS EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL CLAIMS until plaintiff’s claims for UIM benefits under the State Farm and Allstate policies, for an auto accident that occurred on August 18, 2013, have been resolved. II. FACTS Plaintiff Debbie Hulse was involved in an auto accident on August 18, 2013, while driving a vehicle owned by her daughter, Krystina Hulse. The vehicle plaintiff was driving was struck in the rear by a vehicle driven by Kayla M. Henderson, whose negligence was the sole cause of the accident. State Farm issued an automobile insurance policy that insured the vehicle Debbie Hulse was driving at the time of the accident; it provides coverage for plaintiff Debbie E. Hulse for the August 18, 2013 accident, including UIM coverage with limits of $100,000 per person for bodily injury, and personal injury protection (“PIP”) coverage with limits of $35,000. Allstate issued Allstate Insurance Policy No. 920103578 to Larry A. & Debbie E. Hulse; the Allstate policy as it was in effect at the time of the accident, included UIM coverage with limits of $100,000 per person for bodily injury and PIP coverage with limits of $35,000. In this lawsuit, in addition to seeking UIM benefits from State Farm and Allstate, plaintiff has also asserted extra contractual claims against both defendants allegedly arising out of their handling of plaintiff’s claims for UIM benefits. State Farm and Allstate allege that there is a dispute as to the proximate cause, nature, extent and value of plaintiff’s claimed injuries and damages as a result of the August 18, 2013 accident, and both defendants deny that they breached their respective contracts and deny all the extra-contractual claims asserted by plaintiff. As noted in the parties’ Joint Status Report, Dkt# 14, all parties have stipulated and agree that plaintiff’s claim for UIM benefits for the August 18, 2013 auto accident should be resolved first, before the parties or the Court spend any time or money on discovery and litigation of plaintiff’s extra contractual claims. Neither plaintiff nor defendants want to incur the potentially

STIPULATED MOTION AND AGREED ORDER TO BIFURCATE KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. AND STAY PLAINTIFFS EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL CLAIMS unnecessary expense of retaining experts and conducting discovery with respect to plaintiff’s extra-contractual claims until plaintiff’s claim for UIM benefits is resolved. III. STATEMENT OF ISSUE Should the Court enter an order granting the parties’ stipulated motion to bifurcate and stay plaintiff’s extra contractual claims for damages until her claim for UIM benefits has been fully resolved? This motion is made pursuant to W.D. Wash. LCR 10(g), and is based on the prior pleadings filed herein, including the Notice of Removal (Dkt. #1), Allstate’s Answer (Dkt.#9), State Farm’s Answer (Dkt.#12), and the Joint Status Report (Dkt. #14), and Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(b). V. LEGAL AUTHORITY AND ARGUMENT The parties have stipulated and agree that this case should be bifurcated under Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(b), and related case law which authorizes the Court to order issues be tried separately for convenience, to avoid prejudice, or to expedite and economize, as long as the right to a jury trial is preserved. See, Karpenski v. Am. Gen. Life Cos., 916 F. Supp. 2d 1188, 1190 (W.D. Wash. 2012); Tavakoli v. Allstate Property & Cas. Ins. Co., 2012 WL 1903666 (W.D. Wash,. May 25, 2012); Allstate Ins. Co. v. Breeden, 410 F. App'x 6, 9 (9th Cir.2010). VI. CONCLUSION Based on the foregoing, the parties request that the Court enter an Order bifurcating and staying discovery and trial of plaintiff’s extra-contractual claims for damages asserted against both State Farm and Allstate, until plaintiff’s claim for UIM benefits for the August 18, 2013 auto accident is fully resolved. The parties further request that the Court order that the current Order Setting Trial Date and Related Dates (Dkt. #15) filed on October 30, 2019 is the case scheduling

STIPULATED MOTION AND AGREED ORDER TO BIFURCATE KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. AND STAY PLAINTIFFS EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL CLAIMS order for plaintiff’s claim for UIM benefits and that no case scheduling order will be entered on plaintiff’s extra-contractual claims, if that is necessary, until after plaintiff’s claim for UIM benefits has been resolved. SO STIPULATED this 5th day of November, 2019. StandardSig KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. By s/ Irene M. Hecht Irene M. Hecht, WSBA #11063 Maureen M. Falecki, WSBA #18569 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98101-3052 Telephone: 206-623-1900 Facsimile: 206-623-3384 E-mail: ihecht@kellerrohrback.com mfalecki@kellerrohrback.com Attorneys for Defendant Allstate Insurance Company DONCHEZ LAW FIRM By s/ Jeffrey J. Donchez Jeffrey J. Donchez, WSBA #17129 Mercedes M. Donchez, WSBA #51085 8318 196th Street SW, 1st Floor Edmonds, WA 98026 Telephone: 425-744-1184 Facsimile: 425-744-1250 E-mail: jeffrey@donchezlaw.com mercedes@donchezlaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiff

STIPULATED MOTION AND AGREED ORDER TO BIFURCATE KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. AND STAY PLAINTIFFS EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL CLAIMS LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH, LLP By s/ Heather M. Jensen Heather M. Jensen, WSBA #29635 Jennifer E. Aragon, WSBA #45270 1111 Third Avenue, Suite 2700 Seattle, WA 98101 Telephone: 206-436-2020 Facsimile: 206-436-2030 E-mail: heather.jensen@lewisbrisbois.com jennifer.aragon@lewisbrisbois.com Attorneys for Defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

ORDER ON STIPULATION Based on the foregoing stipulated motion, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Debbie E. Hulse’s extra contractual claims asserted against State Farm Insurance Company and Allstate Insurance Company are bifurcated and stayed until plaintiff’s claims against State Farm Insurance Company and Allstate Insurance Company for underinsured motorist benefits for the August 18, 2013 auto accident have been fully and finally resolved; and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the current Order Setting Trial Date and Related Dates (Dkt. #15) filed on October 30, 2019, is the case scheduling order for plaintiff’s claim for underinsured motorist benefits arising out of an August 18, 2013 auto accident only, and that no case scheduling order will be entered on plaintiff’s extra-contractual claims until after plaintiff’s claim for underinsured motorist benefits is fully and finally resolved. DATED this 5 day of October 2019. A RICARDO S. MARTINEZ CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

STIPULATED MOTION AND AGREED ORDER TO BIFURCATE KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. AND STAY PLAINTIFFS EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL CLAIMS