Hague v. Allstate Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 31 August 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 47874.,47874. |
| Parties | Lavinia HAGUE, Personal Representative of the Estate of Ralph Alvin Hague, Deceased, Respondent, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Bell, Stapleton & Nolan, Mark M. Nolan and Peter J. McCall, St. Paul, for appellant.
Fred Burstein and Bruce J. Douglas, Minneapolis, Samuel H. Hertogs, Hastings, and William H. Kuretsky, Minneapolis, for respondent.
Grose, Von Holtum, Von Holtum, Sieben & Schmidt and David A. Stofferahn, Minneapolis and Stanley Karon, President, and Monte M. Miller, Chairman, St. Paul, for Minn. Trial Lawyers Assn.
Jack Davies, Professor of Law, St. Paul, for amicus.
Heard before ROGOSHESKE, TODD, and YETKA, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc; reheard and decided by the court en banc.
Appeal by defendant, Allstate Insurance Co., from an order of the district court granting plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and denying defendant's motion to dismiss.1 We affirm.
The facts are not in dispute. The cause of action upon which this case is based arises out of an automobile and motorcycle accident which occurred on July 1, 1974, in Pierce County, Wisconsin, which is immediately adjacent to the border near Red Wing, Minnesota. Ralph A. Hague was a passenger on a motorcycle owned and operated by his son, Ronald Hague.
The Hagues were traveling west on State Highway No. 35, and they intended to turn left (to the south) onto a road that led to Elderwood Heights, Wisconsin. They slowed to an eventual stop and signaled their intention to make a left turn. While waiting for an eastbound car to pass in the oncoming lane, the motorcycle was struck from behind by an automobile owned and operated by Richard R. Borst, a resident of Ellsworth, Wisconsin. Ralph Hague died as a result of injuries sustained in this accident.
At the time of the accident, Ralph Hague resided with his wife, Lavinia Hague, in Hager City, Wisconsin, which is located just 1½ miles from Red Wing, Minnesota. Although Ralph Hague resided in Wisconsin, he was employed in Red Wing, Minnesota, and he had been employed in Red Wing for 15 years immediately preceding his death. After the accident, and prior to the initiation of the above entitled matter, Lavinia Hague moved her residence to Red Wing, Minnesota. On June 19, 1976, almost concurrently with the initiation of this action, Lavinia Hague was married to a Minnesota resident who operated an automobile service station in Bloomington, and established residence with her husband in Savage, Minnesota. The motorcycle which Ralph Hague was riding was owned by Ronald for about 1 year prior to the accident.
Ronald Hague owned other vehicles that were insured by Allstate, but his motorcycle was not insured. Richard Borst was without valid insurance coverage at the time of the accident.
Ralph Hague was insured at the time of the accident by Allstate, which had issued one policy to decedent that extended coverage to three automobiles Ralph Hague owned. A separate premium was paid for each automobile. The policy was effective as of June 8, 1974, and it provided for uninsured motorist coverage to a limit of $15,000 for each automobile.
On May 28, 1976, the Registrar of Probate for the County of Goodhue, State of Minnesota, appointed Lavinia Hague personal representative of the estate of her deceased husband, Ralph Hague. Subsequent to her appointment as personal representative, Lavinia Hague initiated the above-entitled action against Allstate.
Plaintiff is suing for declaratory relief construing the above indicated policy so as to "stack" the separate $15,000 uninsured motorist coverages on each automobile and therefore afford coverage in the total amount of $45,000. Questions of liability and amount of damages are not at issue in this proceeding, only the amount of coverage available. Plaintiff and defendant agree that if Minnesota law governs this case, "stacking" of the uninsured motorist benefits in the insurance policy is applicable.
Plaintiff's position is that:
(1) Minnesota courts have personal jurisdiction over all of the parties herein because plaintiff is a resident of Minnesota and was so prior to the commencement of this action, and defendant does business within Minnesota and is subject to personal service in this state; and
(2) Under the choice of law doctrine adopted by Minnesota courts, Minnesota law should be applied to the question of "stacking" the uninsured motorist provisions of the automobile insurance policy under which Ralph Hague was insured.
Defendant's position is that:
(1) The question of "stacking" should be determined by the Wisconsin courts, since the accident took place in Wisconsin, and involved all Wisconsin residents; and
(2) Wisconsin courts have not yet determined the question of "stacking" under their new law, and former decisions under the old law held against "stacking."
The issues presented by this appeal are:
(1) Did the trial court abuse its discretion in refusing to dismiss the complaint on the ground of forum non conveniens?
(2) Does Minnesota or Wisconsin law apply to determine whether uninsured motorist coverage may be "stacked"?
We have three choices for a decision in this case: (1) We could hold that clearly the case ought to be declined in Minnesota and referred to Wisconsin for trial; (2) we could hold that the case was properly tried in Minnesota but Wisconsin law ought to apply; or (3) we could hold that the case should be tried in Minnesota under Minnesota law. We find the third course of action appropriate in this case for the reasons set forth herein.
Minnesota courts in their discretion may decline jurisdiction over transitory causes of action brought by nonresident citizens or noncitizens of this state when it fairly appears that it would be more equitable to have the case tried in another available court of competent jurisdiction. Johnson v. Chicago, B. & Q. Railroad Co., 243 Minn. 58, 66 N.W.2d 763 (1954). Although the cases speak of nonresidents, it does not appear that the distinction between residents and nonresidents is crucial, except insofar as it bears on the relative convenience of the parties.2 The important factors to be considered in invoking the rule of forum non conveniens were set out by the United States Supreme Court in Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 508, 67 S.Ct. 839, 843, 91 L.Ed. 1055, 1062 (1947), as follows:
The present action was one for declaratory judgment which did not require witnesses. Plaintiff is a resident of this state and defendant does extensive business within the state. See, Stevens v. American Service Mutual Ins. Co., 234 A.2d 305, 307 (D.C.App.1967). The decedent worked in Minnesota for 15 years and drove to and from his home in Wisconsin. A personal representative was appointed in Minnesota, and there is no showing that a personal representative was appointed in Wisconsin. The only "inconvenience" is that Minnesota law, if applied, might be more liberal than Wisconsin law. There does not appear to be harassment or oppression involved in this lawsuit.
We do not, however, decide the issue of whether a district court may decline jurisdiction over a resident's cause of action because, even if it may, there was no abuse of discretion here in refusing to dismiss the case. The mere fact that Wisconsin law may be different from Minnesota law is not sufficient reason to decline jurisdiction. Myers v. Government Employees Insurance Co., 302 Minn. 359, 367, 225 N.W.2d 238, 241 (1974); Chubbuck v. Holloway, 182 Minn. 225, 234 N.W. 314, 868 (1931).
Defendant argues that even if Minnesota retains jurisdiction, Wisconsin law should be applied to prohibit "stacking" of the uninsured motorist coverage. Plaintiff contends that Minnesota law applies, but that there is no true conflict because Wisconsin law permits stacking.3
In Milkovich v. Saari, 295 Minn. 155, 203 N.W.2d 408 (1973), this court adopted a methodology of analysis for resolving conflicts of laws questions.4 The analysis involves the following "choice-influencing considerations" (295 Minn. 161, 203 N.W.2d 412): (1) predictability of result, (2) maintenance of interstate and international order, (3) simplification of the judicial task, (4) advancement of the forum's governmental interest, (5) application of the better rule of law. Before applying the five factor analysis, the court must first determine whether the choice of one law will be "outcome determinative," i.e., whether there is an actual conflict. Myers v. Government Employees Ins. Co. supra. Thus if Wisconsin law would allow stacking, then the choice of law question need not be reached and the result reached by the trial court should be affirmed.
The first question which we must determine is whether there is a conflict between the interests of Minnesota and Wisconsin in the present case. Interests of Wisconsin, in the present case, are grounded in the residence of the plaintiff at the time of the accident...
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