Stephenson v. Frizzell International, Ltd.

812 F. Supp. 1132, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1566, 1993 WL 30590
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedJanuary 11, 1993
DocketCiv. A. No. 92-2138-O
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 812 F. Supp. 1132 (Stephenson v. Frizzell International, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stephenson v. Frizzell International, Ltd., 812 F. Supp. 1132, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1566, 1993 WL 30590 (D. Kan. 1993).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

EARL E. O’CONNOR, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on defendant’s motion to dismiss for ineffective service of process and lack of personal jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs, citizens of Kansas, are in the business of breeding, raising, training and racing quarterhorses. This lawsuit arises out of a dispute between the parties over a policy of equine all risk mortality insurance taken out by the plaintiffs to insure their horses. Plaintiffs allege in their complaint that they purchased the subject policies from defendant Frizzell, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the United Kingdom, through Frizzell’s agent, Walter B. Knorpp, Jr., or Walter B. Knorpp Insurance Agency, Inc. (herein, collectively “Knorpp”), of Clarendon, Texas. Plaintiffs allege that Frizzell [1133]*1133unlawfully refused to pay on demand a loss covered by the policies. Plaintiffs brought suit in this court, asserting two claims for breach of contract.

Defendant now seeks dismissal for ineffective service of process. Plaintiffs attempted to effect service pursuant to Kansas Statute Annotated § 40-2001 et seq., which is the Unauthorized Insurers Process Act. Section 40-2002(b) of this act provides that an unauthorized foreign or alien insurer (“unauthorized” in the sense that it is not authorized to do business in the State of Kansas) may be served with process by serving the commissioner of insurance, who then is charged with forwarding a copy of the process to the defendant by registered mail. This method for service was adopted by the Kansas Legislature out of a recognition that many state residents held policies of insurance issued or delivered in the state by insurers not authorized to do business in Kansas, thus forcing state residents to assert their rights under such policies in distant forums. See K.S.A. 40-2001. To remedy this situation, the legislature enacted section 40-2002(a), whereby the unauthorized foreign or alien insurer, provided it has committed one of the enumerated acts in the statute (e.g., issuing contracts of insurance to residents of the state), is deemed to have designated the commissioner of insurance as its representative for service of process. K.S.A. 40-2002(a).

Defendant contends that it is not an “insurer” as contemplated by the Unauthorized Insurers Process Act. Defendant argues that it is an insurance broker, not an insurer, because it did not underwrite the risk, but merely placed the risk by procuring the policies. Plaintiffs argue in response that this is an overly technical interpretation, and that Frizzell is clearly “engaged in the business of insurance,” making Frizzell an “insurer” for the purposes of the act. The act applies only to insurers; thus, it is important for the court to determine whether or not Frizzell is an “insurer” under section 40-2001.

The Unauthorized Insurer Process Act does not define the term “insurer.” However, the court does not find the term ambiguous. The plain meaning of the term is that ascribed to it by Black’s Law Dictionary:

Insurer. The underwriter or insurance company with whom a contract of insurance is made. The one who assumes a risk or underwrites a policy, or the underwriter or company with whom the contract of insurance is made.

Black’s Law Dictionary 726 (5th ed. 1979); see also 21A Words & Phrases, “Insurer” (1960 & Supp.1992). This term does not encompass insurance brokers because brokers place the risk, not assume it. This conclusion is supported by decisions of the Kansas appellate courts that, while not directly on point, throw some light on the subject. For example, in Rosedale Securities Company v. Home Insurance Company, 120 Kan. 415, 243 P. 1023 (1926), the Kansas Supreme Court stated:

An insurance broker is one who acts as a middleman between the insured and the insurer; one who solicits contracts from the public under no employment from any special company, but, having secured an order, places the insurance with the company selected by the insured, or, in the absence of any selection by him, then with the company selected by such broker.

Id. at 418, 243 P. 1023 (citation omitted). The court further observed the rule that “where one engages another to procure insurance the person so employed is the agent of the insured, and not of the insurer, in all matters connected with such procurement.” Id. (citation omitted). Rose-dale was cited for these propositions by the Kansas Court of Appeals in Marshel Investments, Inc. v. Cohen, 6 Kan.App.2d 672, 679, 634 P.2d 133, 139 (1981). Thus it is clear that the Kansas appellate courts perceive a distinction between insurers and insurance brokers in much the same way as this court does.

Should resort to statutory analysis or ascertainment of legislative intent be required, they would lead to the same conclusion. Although section 40-2001 does not define “insurer,” other sections of the Kan[1134]*1134sas Insurance Code do contain definitions that are illuminating. For example, Article 2, the general provisions article, defines “insurance company” (for the purposes of that article) as “all corporations, companies, associations, societies, persons or partnerships writing contracts of insurance, indemnity or suretyship upon any type of risk or loss.” K.S.A. 40-201. In another section of Article 2, the term “insurance company” is defined to include “all corporations, companies, associations, societies, fraternal benefit societies, mutual nonprofit hospital service corporations, nonprofit medical service corporations, reciprocal exchanges, persons or partnerships writing contracts of insurance, indemnity or suretyship in this state upon any type of risk or loss [except for certain fraternal lodges or societies].” K.S.A. 40-222c. Although the two definitions differ with respect to the entities covered, they are the same in the sense that those entities are “insurance companies” only if their business is “writing contracts of insurance, indemnity or suretyship upon any type of risk or loss.” K.S.A. 40-201 and 40-222c. While each definition is by its terms limited to the context in which it appears, these provisions support an inference that the legislature intended “insurer” in section 40-2001 to mean those entities actually writing contracts of insurance, and not those merely procuring insurance policies for interested third parties. Finally, it should be noted that the Kansas Legislature enacted Article 37 to specifically regulate the licensing and conduct of insurance brokers. K.S.A. 40-3701 et seq.

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Bluebook (online)
812 F. Supp. 1132, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1566, 1993 WL 30590, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stephenson-v-frizzell-international-ltd-ksd-1993.