Carter v. Mississippi Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 23 March 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-052.,04-052.
• Parties: Michael CARTER and Tina Schmidt, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. MISSISSIPPI FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, d/b/a Mississippi Farm Bureau Insurance, John Does 1-6 Insurance, John Does 1-6, Defendant and Respondent.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

109 P.3d 735

2005 MT 74

326 Mont. 350

Michael CARTER and Tina Schmidt, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. MISSISSIPPI FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, d/b/a Mississippi Farm Bureau Insurance, John Does 1--6, Defendant and Respondent.

No. 04-052.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs July 7, 2004.

Decided March 23, 2005.

For Appellants: Eric Rasmussen, Bulman Law Associates, Missoula, Montana.

For Respondent: Randall Nelson and Colette Davies, Nelson & Dahle, Billings, Montana.

For Amicus: Gene R. Jarussi, Jarussi & Bishop, Billings, Montana (Amicus MTLA).

Justice PATRICIA O. COTTER delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Michael Carter and Tina Schmidt ("Carter" and "Schmidt," respectively), appeal from an Order of the Montana Fourth Judicial District Court, Missoula County, in which the court granted summary judgment to defendant Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company ("MFBCIC") and dismissed Carter's and Schmidt's lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction over MFBCIC. We affirm.

ISSUE

¶ 2 We restate the issue as follows: Did the District Court err when it granted MFBCIC's motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the court did not have personal jurisdiction over MFBCIC?

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Carter and Schmidt filed a declaratory judgment action against MFBCIC in the Montana Fourth Judicial District Court, Missoula County, and requested interpretation of an insurance contract. In their Complaint, Carter and Schmidt alleged they were in a motor vehicle collision in Sanders County, Montana, on December 28, 2001, in which they both sustained head injuries. Carter was driving a Toyota pick-up truck which was insured by MFBCIC and Schmidt was his passenger. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash was insured by Metlife Auto and Home, which settled with Carter and Schmidt for the policy limits of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per incident. Carter and Schmidt made claims under Carter's MFBCIC policy for medical payments coverage and underinsured motorist coverage ("UIM coverage"). They allege in their Complaint that MFBCIC paid only $5,000 to each of them for medical payment coverage and has refused to pay UIM coverage despite demands to do so. They sought declaratory judgment from the District Court with regard to issues surrounding the various coverages, stacking, and subrogation.

¶ 4 Carter and his family lived in Whitefish, Montana, for several years and then moved to Mississippi. They lived in Mississippi approximately two years, and returned to live in the State of Montana on December 5, 2001. The accident at issue occurred about three weeks later. At that time, it was Carter's intent to live in Montana year-round; however, he has since decided to be a "snowbird" and spend winters in Mississippi and the rest of the year in Montana. At the time of the accident, Carter asserted he was receiving his mail in Montana, but he continued to maintain a post office box in Mississippi which his mother-in-law checked and from which she forwarded important mail to his Montana address.

¶ 5 It appears that at the time of the accident, Carter had four motor vehicles insured through MFBCIC. Each of the vehicles' policies showed the vehicles to be garaged in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Subsequent to insuring his motor vehicles with MFBCIC, Carter relocated to Montana. However, he did not notify MFBCIC that he moved to Montana. He explained that since the policy was paid in full, he did not see a need to notify the insurance company that he had relocated. Carter stated that prior to the accident, he had intended to let his MFBCIC policy lapse upon expiration, and that he had planned to purchase a new policy in Montana.

¶ 6 Carter also testified that prior to leaving Mississippi, he spoke with his MFBCIC insurance agent Cecil Staggs and asked if there would be any problems with coverage if he moved to Montana and Staggs assured him there would not. Staggs denied that Carter informed him that he planned to move to Montana or that the insured vehicles would be garaged outside of Mississippi.

¶ 7 In response to the Complaint, MFBCIC entered a limited appearance to contest the District Court's exercise of personal jurisdiction, and moved for summary judgment on the issue. Carter and Schmidt opposed the motion and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment regarding personal jurisdiction. The District Court granted summary judgment to MFBCIC, concluding it did not have personal jurisdiction over MFBCIC. Carter and Schmidt timely appeal. The Montana Trial Lawyers Association ("MTLA") has also filed an amicus curiae brief in this case.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 8 We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same evaluation under Rule 56, M.R.Civ.P., as the district court. Glacier Tennis Club v. Treweek Constr., 2004 MT 70, ¶ 21, 320 Mont. 351, ¶ 21, 87 P.3d 431, ¶ 21 (citations omitted). In other words, the party moving for summary judgment has the initial burden of proving that there are no genuine issues of material fact that would permit a non-moving party to succeed on the merits of the case, and if the moving party meets that burden, then the non-moving party must provide substantial evidence that raises a genuine issue of material fact in order to avoid summary judgment in favor of the moving party. Glacier, ¶ 21 (citations omitted). Once it is established that no genuine issues of material fact exist, the district court must then determine whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and this Court reviews that determination to determine whether the district court erred. Glacier, ¶ 21 (citations omitted).

DISCUSSION

¶ 9 Did the District Court err when it granted MFBCIC's motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the court did not have personal jurisdiction over MFBCIC? ¶ 10 Carter argues that, since MFBCIC "knew" he relocated but did not cancel his insurance policies, MFBCIC maintained sufficient contact with Montana to subject itself to personal jurisdiction within Montana's courts. He claims that through conversations which he had with Staggs, MFBCIC was aware that Carter had a "connection" with Montana and "ties" to this state prior to the accident. Carter and Schmidt further argue that the District Court relied upon an inapplicable case and erroneously considered the facts in a light most favorable to MFBCIC in determining that personal jurisdiction over MFBCIC did not exist. Carter and Schmidt maintain that Montana has specific jurisdiction over MFBCIC because, by virtue of the automobile accident having occurred here, Montana is the place of performance of the insurance contract.

¶ 11 MFBCIC responds that it has not engaged in any act which would give rise to specific jurisdiction in this case, and asserts that it is a Mississippi corporation which has no presence in Montana. It has no offices or agents in Montana, does not advertise here, and is not authorized to conduct business in Montana as a foreign insurer. MFBCIC notes that Carter was a Mississippi resident when MFBCIC issued his insurance policy, and the policy in effect at the time of the accident reflected that Carter's insured vehicles were garaged in Mississippi.

¶ 12 Carter offered four documents to support his contention that MFBCIC had sufficient contacts with Montana to subject it to the jurisdiction of its courts. MFBCIC points out that only one of Carter's four documents pre-dated the accident, and that document is a Montana bank lien, which was sent to Carter's Mississippi address and listed a Mississippi county as the garaging location of the subject vehicle. Two of the other three documents were premium payments drawn on Carter's Montana checking accounts after the accident and both premium notices list a Mississippi county as the garaging location of the vehicles. The final document was an Automobile Policy Change Request form, which was sent to Carter's Montana address about a year and a half after the accident. MFBCIC further argues that, even if these documents could somehow impute knowledge to MFBCIC that Carter was residing in Montana, the unilateral action of an insured who changes residency does not automatically cause the insurer to become subject to personal jurisdiction in the courts of the insured's new state of residency.

¶ 13 In its Order and Memorandum, the District Court relied upon the two-part test we enunciated in Bi-Lo Foods, Inc. v. Alpine Bank, Clifton, 1998 MT 40, ¶ 15, 287 Mont. 367, ¶ 15, 955 P.2d 154, ¶ 15. In order to determine whether a Montana court can exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, the court first determines whether jurisdiction exists either by way of the defendant being found within Montana or by way of the long-arm statutes; then, the court must determine whether exercising jurisdiction comports with the defendant's due process rights.

¶ 14 The District Court determined that Carter and Schmidt, by relying upon cases which did not ever address the issue of personal jurisdiction, failed to state a compelling argument upon which the court could conclude that it had specific jurisdiction over MFBCIC. The District Court further noted that MFBCIC was not made aware of Carter's move to Montana until after the accident occurred, and in fact Carter's own evidence revealed that his MFBCIC membership renewal notices subsequent to the accident were mailed to a Mississippi address.

¶ 15 In its amicus brief, MTLA asserts that neither party in this case has applied the appropriate law, and draws our attention to language within the MFBCIC insurance policy which states that its territory of coverage applies to automobile accidents within the United States. MTLA further asserts that Carter's deposition testimony that he told his MFBCIC insurance agent that he and his wife resided part of the year in Montana is pivotal to the outcome of this case. MTLA argues that ...