Lemen v. Allstate Ins. Co., Civ. No. 94-00497 ACK.

• Court: United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Court (Hawaii)
• Writing for the Court: KAY
• Citation: 938 F. Supp. 640
• Parties: Colleen LEMEN, Plaintiff, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, an Illinois Corporation, Defendant.
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 94-00497 ACK.
• Decision Date: 31 March 1995

938 F. Supp. 640

Colleen LEMEN, Plaintiff,
v.
ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, an Illinois Corporation, Defendant.

Civ. No. 94-00497 ACK.

United States District Court, D. Hawai`i.

March 31, 1995.

938 F. Supp. 641

Virgil James Wilson, Daniel Patrick Kirley, Law Offices of Ian L. Mattoch, Honolulu, HI, for plaintiff.

Joel D. Kam, Richard B. Miller, McCorriston Miho & Miller & Mukai, Honolulu, HI, for defendant.

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KAY, Chief Judge.

BACKGROUND

On June 27, 1994, Plaintiff Lemen filed a complaint seeking declaratory relief. Lemen claims that she is entitled to underinsured motorist ("UIM") benefits pursuant to her father's Allstate automobile insurance policy. Over six months later, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.

FACTS

Lemen's claim for UIM benefits under her father's policy is related to injuries she sustained in a February 8, 1994 automobile accident in Hilo, Hawaii.

Her father's policy was issued and delivered in Alaska, and insures two of her father's automobiles, both of which are located in Alaska.

At the time of the accident, Lemen was driving a 1977 Datsun pick-up truck which was registered in her own name. Her truck was not insured.

On the date of the accident, Lemen was a student at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

The parties have stipulated that Lemen is a resident and citizen of Alaska and, for insurance purposes, that she qualifies as an insured "resident relative" under her father's Alaska policy.¹

938 F. Supp. 642

The insurance policy does not have a choice of law clause.

DISCUSSION

I. The Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment shall be granted where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). One of the principal purposes of the summary judgment procedure is to identify and dispose of factually unsupported claims and defenses. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Summary judgment must be granted against a party who fails to demonstrate facts to establish an element essential to his case where that party will bear the burden of proof of that essential element at trial. Id. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552.

If the party moving for summary judgment meets its initial burden of identifying for the court the portions of the materials on file that it believes demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party may not rely on the mere allegations in the pleadings in order to preclude summary judgment.

T.W. Electrical Serv. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Assoc., 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir. 1987) (citations omitted). Instead, Rule 56(e) requires that the nonmoving party set forth, by affidavit or as otherwise provided in Rule 56, "`specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Id. (quoting Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e)). At least some "`significant probative evidence tending to support the complaint'" must be produced. Id. (quoting First Nat'l Bank v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 290, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1593, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)). Legal memoranda and oral argument are not evidence and do not create issues of fact capable of defeating an otherwise valid motion for summary judgment. British Airways Bd. v. Boeing Co., 585 F.2d 946, 952 (9th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 981, 99 S.Ct. 1790, 60 L.Ed.2d 241 (1979).

The standard for a grant of summary judgment reflects the standard governing the grant of a directed verdict. See Eisenberg v. Ins. Co. of North America, 815 F.2d 1285, 1289 (9th Cir.1987) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). Thus, the question is whether "reasonable minds could differ as to the import of the evidence." Id.

The Ninth Circuit has established that "no longer can it be argued that any disagreement about a material issue of fact precludes the use of summary judgment." California Architectural Bldg. Products, Inc. v. Franciscan Ceramics, Inc., 818 F.2d 1466, 1468 (9th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1006, 108 S.Ct. 698, 98 L.Ed.2d 650 (1988). Moreover, "when the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (footnote omitted). Indeed, "if the factual context makes the non-moving party's claim implausible, that party must come forward with more persuasive evidence than would otherwise be necessary to show that there is a genuine issue for trial." Franciscan Ceramics, 818 F.2d at 1468. Of course, all evidence and inferences to be drawn therefrom must be construed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. T.W. Elec. Services, 809 F.2d at 630-31.

II. Hawaii Law Applies, The Exclusion Is Void, And Lemen Is Entitled To Coverage

The parties seek a ruling determining whether Allstate owes a duty to Lemen to pay UIM benefits under the Allstate insurance contract.

The insurance policy on which Lemen bases her suit excludes coverage where, as is undisputed here, an insured (Lemen) is injured while occupying an uninsured vehicle (her truck) which is owned by the named insured (her father) or by a resident relative

938 F. Supp. 643

of that named insured (Lemen).² This is known as the "owned vehicle" exclusion

A. Choice Of Law Analysis: Hawaii Law Applies

Whether Lemen is entitled to UIM coverage under an insurance policy which includes the owned vehicle exclusion depends on a choice of law analysis.

1. Choice Of Law Standard

In diversity cases, the Court must apply the forum's law in resolving conflict of laws issues. See Van Dusen v. Barrack, 376 U.S. 612, 628, 84 S.Ct. 805, 815, 11 L.Ed.2d 945 (1964); Lettieri v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S., 627 F.2d 930, 932 (9th Cir.1980). Hawaii resolves its conflict of laws issues by deciding which State has the strongest interest in seeing its law applied to a particular case. See Lewis v. Lewis, 69 Haw. 497, 499, 748 P.2d 1362 (1988); Peters v. Peters, 63 Haw. 653, 634 P.2d 586 (1981). There is a presumption that Hawaii law applies unless another state's law "would best serve the interests of the states and persons involved." Peters, 63 Haw. at 660, 634 P.2d 586. The Hawaii Supreme Court phrased the rule as "an assessment of the interests and policy factors involved with a purpose of arriving at a desirable result in each situation." Id. at 664, 634 P.2d 586; see also Beals v. Kiewit Pacific Co., Inc., 825 F.Supp. 926, 930 (D.Haw.1993) (following Peters). The Supreme Court was also guided by the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws, § 145 (1971) which provides that in determining which state has the most significant relationship to the occurrence and the parties, courts should consider:

(a) the place where the injury occurred,

(b) the place where the conduct causing the injury occurred,

(c) the domicile, residence, nationality, place of incorporation and place of business of the parties, and

(d) the place where the relationship, if any, between the parties is centered.

Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws, § 145 (1971). The Restatement provides that these contacts are to be evaluated according to their relative importance with respect to the particular issue.

2. Hawaii Law Applies

Applying this test, the Court finds that Hawaii law is the appropriate choice of law because Hawaii has the stronger interest in seeing its laws applied.

First, the accident occurred in Hawaii. Second, at the time of the accident, though Lemen was a resident of Alaska, she was living in Hawaii and attending the University of Hawaii as a full-time student.

Third, under Hawaii law, Lemen has rights to insurance benefits pursuant to her father's automobile insurance policy. This is true because under Hawaii law UIM coverage, like the analogous uninsured motorist ("UM") coverage, follows the insured person and not the insured vehicle.³ For purposes of UIM coverage, therefore, it does not matter that the insured cars were garaged in Alaska, that her father did not own the car

938 F. Supp. 644

she was driving, or that the car she was driving was uninsured

Fourth, the Hawaii Supreme Court has articulated a strong interest in protecting the rights of persons within the state to recover benefits pursuant to automobile insurance policies.⁴...