Richardson v. American Family Insurance

643 F. Supp. 364, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20999
CourtDistrict Court, D. Montana
DecidedAugust 29, 1986
DocketNo. CV-86-47-M-CCL
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 643 F. Supp. 364 (Richardson v. American Family Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Montana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Richardson v. American Family Insurance, 643 F. Supp. 364, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20999 (D. Mont. 1986).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LOVELL, District Judge.

This is a third-party bad faith action based on plaintiff’s allegation that defendant has unreasonably failed to settle her insurance claim against its insured even though liability is reasonably clear. The case is before the Court on defendant’s motion to dismiss for want of personal jurisdiction. Having been briefed fully, defendant’s motion is ripe for disposition.

BACKGROUND

On August 10, 1984, plaintiff Arline Richardson was operating a motor vehicle in Carthage, Missouri. While stopped at an intersection, Richardson’s vehicle was struck from behind by an automobile driven by Bruce Harmon. The Harmon vehicle subsequently was struck from behind by a car driven by Joyce Rogler. The Rogler vehicle was insured by defendant American Family Insurance Company.

Richardson is a Montana citizen. Shortly after the above-described automobile accident, Richardson returned to Montana.

American Family Insurance is a Wisconsin corporation with offices and agents in Missouri where it is registered to do business. American Family Insurance claims that it is not registered to do business in Montana, that it in fact has not transacted any business in Montana, that it has not committed any tort in Montana, that it does [365]*365not maintain any offices or have any agents or employees in Montana, and that it has not done anything to purposefully avail itself of the protections of the laws of the state of Montana.

In her pleadings, Richardson concedes that American Family Insurance does not sell or solicit policies of insurance within Montana. However, Richardson alleges that defendant’s employees and agents have used interstate mail and telephone services to contact Montana residents concerning plaintiff’s insurance claim. Richardson contends those contacts are sufficient to subject defendant to Montana’s long-arm jurisdictional statute. Richardson also alleges that defendant hired an adjuster in Montana to act as its agent with respect to her claim or fraudulently misrepresented that it had obtained such services.

DISCUSSION

In determining whether in personam jurisdiction exists over a non-resident defendant in a case where subject matter jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship, the Court must apply a two-part test. First, the Court looks to the long-arm statute of the state in which it sits; and second, the Court determines whether application of the statute is consistent with due process. Paccar International, Inc. v. Commercial Bank of Kuwait, 757 F.2d 1058 (9th Cir.1985); Taubler v. Giraud, 655 F.2d 991 (9th Cir.1981).

Montana’s long-arm statute is contained in Rule 4B, Mont.R.Civ.P.1 Under Rule 4B, a person is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Montana if he or she is either “found” within the state or is subject to a claim for relief arising from the commission within the state of one or more of six enumerated acts. The long-arm statute has been construed liberally in favor of finding jurisdiction in Montana courts. See, e.g., Prentice Lumber Company, Inc. v. Spahn, 156 Mont. 68, 474 P.2d 141 (1970). Richardson contends that American Family Insurance “transacted business” within Montana and has had sufficient “minimum contacts” with the state so as to subject it to the personal jurisdiction of this Court. Richardson alleges that agents or employees of American Family Insurance used interstate mail or telephone services on 18 occasions for the purpose of responding to her claim against its insured. Assuming the validity of plaintiff’s arguments that defendant transacted business within Montana or committed some act which resulted in the accrual of a tort action within the state, the Court still must determine that exercise of jurisdiction over defendant would be consistent with due process.

Exercise of personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant is consistent with due process in one of two circumstances. First, general jurisdiction will lie if the defendant’s activities in the state are substantial and continuous, even if the cause of action is not related to defendant’s activities in the forum state. Pacific Atlantic Trading Co. v. M/V Main Express, 758 F.2d 1325 (9th Cir.1985). Second, if the defendant’s activities are not sufficiently pervasive to support general jurisdiction, [366]*366the nature and quality of the forum-related activities must be evaluated in relation to the specific cause of action to determine whether limited jurisdiction exists. Id.

Plaintiff apparently does not dispute that American Family Insurance does not have such systematic and continuous contact with Montana so as to subject itself to general personal jurisdiction within the state. Thus, personal jurisdiction over defendant must be based on its forum-related activities. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has adopted a three-prong approach for evaluating the defendant’s contacts with the forum to ascertain whether limited jurisdiction exists: (1) the non-resident defendant must do some act or consummate some transaction in the forum or perform some act by which he purposefully avails himself of the privilege of conducting activities in the forum, thereby invoking the benefits and protections of its laws; (2) the claim asserted against defendant must be one which arises out of or results from defendant’s forum-related activities; and (3) the exercise of jurisdiction must be reasonable. Data Disc, Inc. v. Systems Technology Associates, Inc., 557 F.2d 1280 (9th Cir.1977). It is plaintiff’s position that defendant, by sending written or telephonic responses to her insurance claim in an attempt to settle it, has satisfied the first element of the test set forth in Data Disc.

Montana’s long-arm statute is somewhat unique in that the non-resident defendant need not commit a tort within Montana to be subject to jurisdiction. Rather, the tort action must accrue within the state. Thus, for purposes of this analysis, it makes no difference that American Family Insurance was not physically present in Montana at the time it allegedly unreasonably refused to settle Richardson’s claim. See McGee v. Riekhof, 442 F.Supp. 1276, 1279 n. 2 (D.Mont.1978). Assuming, then, that defendant's conduct resulted in the accrual of a tort action within Montana, the Court’s inquiry is whether such conduct satisfies the Data Disc test.

The Supreme Court of Montana adopted the Data Disc test in Simmons v. State of Montana, et al., — Mont.-, 670 P.2d 1372 (1983). Simmons involved an agreement between the states of Montana and Oregon for conducting lab testing for metabolic disorders. The Oregon Department of Human Resources in Portland, Oregon, performs the tests for children born in Montana. Blood samples are sent by the state of Montana to Portland, and the test results are returned to Montana. Plaintiff in Simmons was the father of a child whose metabolic disorder the laboratory had failed to detect.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
643 F. Supp. 364, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20999, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richardson-v-american-family-insurance-mtd-1986.