Smith v. Summers

334 F. Supp. 3d 339
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedSeptember 24, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-cv-1862 (GMH)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 334 F. Supp. 3d 339 (Smith v. Summers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Summers, 334 F. Supp. 3d 339 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

G. MICHAEL HARVEY, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

*341The dispute in this diversity case arises from a motor vehicle accident that occurred in the District of Columbia on September 18, 2016. A car driven by John Albert Summers, a resident of the District of Columbia, crossed over the center line on Minnesota Avenue, N.E., first striking another motor vehicle before impacting a car being driven by Plaintiff, a Maryland resident. Seeking compensation for injuries she alleges she sustained during the accident, Plaintiff filed this action claiming Summers' negligence caused the action. Believing that the $25,000 of liability coverage under Summers' automobile insurance policy would be insufficient to compensate her for her injuries, Plaintiff also brought suit under a contract theory against her own automobile insurer, CSAA General Insurance Company, pursuant to the underinsured motorist (UIM) provisions of her policy.

Last January, Summers admitted liability for the accident, and his insurer tendered the policy limits of his policy in exchange for the release of him and his wife1 from this action. Dkt. 22. Thus, the only remaining defendant is CSAA. A jury trial in this matter is scheduled to begin on September 25, 2018. As Summers' liability for the accident has been established, the only issue for the jury to determine is the nature and extent of Defendant's injuries caused by the collision, if any.

Presently pending before the Court is CSAA's motion in limine seeking to exclude from trial any evidence or reference to (1) the UIM coverage limits of Plaintiff's policy with CSAA, or, for that matter, (2) CSAA's contractual relationship with Plaintiff. Dkt. 25 at 1. Plaintiff conceded at the pretrial conference that she will not seek to introduce or make reference to any coverage limits at trial-whether to the limits of her own UIM coverage or of Summers' automobile liability policy-but opposes Defendant's request that no mention be made at trial concerning her contract for UIM insurance that she purchased from CSAA. Dkt. 26 at 2; Dkt. 30 at 2 n.1. The issues are fully briefed2 and oral argument was held on the motion at the September 4, 2018 pretrial conference.

For the reasons set forth below and at the pretrial conference, Defendant's motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART .

I. ANALYSIS

A. Choice of Law

The Court must determine as a preliminary matter what law to apply. Arguably the relief sought in Defendant's motion does not require the application of state substantive law but only of federal "procedural" law, i.e., the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The distinction matters because of the "broad command" of *342Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins that when federal courts sit pursuant to their diversity jurisdiction they are "to apply state substantive law and federal procedural law." Hanna v. Plumer , 380 U.S. 460, 465, 85 S.Ct. 1136, 14 L.Ed.2d 8 (1965) ; see generally Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins , 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938). But neither party argues for the straightforward application of the Federal Rules of Evidence or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to resolve the contested issue in Defendant's motion, nor have they conducted the Erie analysis that would determine whether federal "procedural" law should apply. See Burke v. Air Service. Int'l, Inc. , 685 F.3d 1102, 1107 (D.C. Cir. 2012) ("The Supreme Court has evolved a set of tests to determine whether a law is substantive or procedural for Erie purposes."). In any event, the complexities of the Erie issue need not be addressed here because, as discussed further below, application of either state or federal law leads to the same result with respect to the issues raised in the motion in limine.

As to which state's law to apply, the parties are in disagreement. When Summers was dismissed from this matter in January, Defendant CSAA and Plaintiff agreed that Maryland law applies in this case with respect to issues involving Plaintiff's UIM claim. Dkt. 22 at 2, n.1 ("All parties hereto agree that since plaintiff was a Maryland insured who had in effect a Maryland policy of insurance at the time of the subject collision, that Maryland law applies to the underinsured procedures involved herein."). Seemingly retreating from that position, Defendant now seeks application of District of Columbia law to its motion in limine. Dkt. 25 at 2. Consistent with the parties' prior stipulation, Plaintiff seeks application of Maryland law. Dkt. 28 at 4-8; Dkt. 30 at 2-3. However, the parties' disagreement is largely academic. Under D.C.'s choice-of-law rules,3 a court need not determine which of the competing jurisdiction's law to apply unless it first determines that a relevant conflict in fact exists. See Eli Lilly & Co. v. Home Ins. Co. , 764 F.2d 876, 882 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (citing Fowler v. A & A Co. , 262 A.2d 344, 348 (D.C. 1970) ); Chicago Ins. Co. v. Paulson & Nace, PLLC , 37 F.Supp.3d 281, 290 (D.D.C. 2014), aff'd , 783 F.3d 897 (D.C. Cir. 2015). Here, no party points to any conflict between the laws of the District of Columbia and Maryland relevant to the resolution of Defendant's motion in limine, and the Court has not identified one either.

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Bluebook (online)
334 F. Supp. 3d 339, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-summers-cadc-2018.