Smith v. Summers

• Decision Date: 24 September 2018
• Docket Number: Case No. 17-cv-1862 (GMH)
• Parties: Monique Yvette SMITH, Plaintiff, v. John Albert SUMMERS, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

334 F.Supp.3d 339

Monique Yvette SMITH, Plaintiff,

v.John Albert SUMMERS, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 17-cv-1862 (GMH)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed September 24, 2018

Peter A. Chapin, Sacks & Chapin, P.C., Bethesda, MD, for Plaintiff.

Mark Andrew Kohl, Decaro Doran Siciliano Gallagher & DeBlasis, LLP, Bowie, MD, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

G. MICHAEL HARVEY, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

The 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 Erie 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.

Defendant does assert that there is no controlling case law in the District on the contested issue raised in its motion, and argues, that the Court should look to Maryland common law to resolve the dispute. Dkt. 25 at 2. That is in fact what D.C. law requires. Where there is no D.C. common law on point, the courts of this jurisdiction are instructed to "look to the law of Maryland for guidance" because D.C. common law is based on Maryland common law. Conesco Indus., Ltd. v. Conforti & Eisele, Inc., D.C. , 627 F.2d 312, 315–16 (D.C. Cir. 1980) ; see also Douglas v. Lyles , 841 A.2d 1, 5 n.5 (D.C. 2004) ("[A] Maryland Court of Appeals decision expounding the common law of that state is ‘an especially persuasive authority when the District's common law is silent.’ " (quoting Forrest v. Verizon Communications, Inc. , 805 A.2d 1007, 1012 n.12 (D.C. 2002) ) ); Burlington Ins. Co. v. Okie Dokie, Inc. , 368 F.Supp.2d 83, 88 n.1 (D.D.C. 2005) ("Maryland authorities interpreting Maryland common law constitute ‘powerful precedent’ when District of Columbia courts interpret District of Columbia common law because District of Columbia common law is based on Maryland common law."). The Court will follow that principle here.

B. Coverage Limits

As noted, Plaintiff has conceded the first ground of Defendant's motion in limine and agrees she will not seek to introduce at trial the coverage limits of her UIM policy with Defendant, or the limits of Summers' automobile policy. That concession is well-taken as it is consistent with Maryland, D.C., and federal law. See Allstate Ins. Co. v. Miller , 315 Md. 182, 553 A.2d 1268, 1272 (1989) ("Where the insurance carrier is a party to the suit ... the amount of uninsured motorist coverage should not be disclosed, unless the amount is in controversy."); Allstate Ins. Co. v. Ramos , 782 A.2d 280, 286 (D.C. 2001) (citing Miller with approval); see also Schwendinger-Roy v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. , Civ. Act. No. 11-445, 2012 WL 13034915, at *1 (W.D. Pa. July 10, 2012) (precluding evidence of UIM coverage limits in action between plaintiff and her UIM insurance carrier because the "probative value of this evidence, if any, is outweighed by the risks of unfair prejudice, confusing the issues and misleading the jury"); accord Wallace v. Allstate Ins. Co. , Civ. No. 1:08CV1460-HSO-JMR, 2010 WL 200001, at *5 (S.D. Miss. Jan. 24, 2010) ("[T]he limits of coverage are not probative of the issue of damages, absent a controversy over the amount of coverage itself .... Even if relevant, the Court finds that this evidence would be unduly prejudicial, misleading, and confusing to a jury ...."). As these cases hold, the amount of insurance coverage has no bearing on the jury's consideration of issues of either liability or damages, and "establishing the availability of a sum certain [of insurance coverage] is likely to distort a jury verdict." Miller , 553 A.2d at 1272.⁴

Accordingly, the first basis of Defendant's motion in limine will be granted, and the parties will be precluded from mentioning at trial any insurance coverage limits that may be related to this matter, including the limits associated with Plaintiff's UIM policy and with Summers' automobile insurance policy. For the same reason, and with the parties' consent, the parties will not be permitted to introduce into evidence the declaration page of the UIM insurance policy which reflects the coverage limits.

C. Plaintiff's Relationship as Defendant's UIM Insured

As for the disputed issue raised in the motion in limine, it is important to clarify what Defendant is seeking and what it is not. It is not requesting to appear anonymously before the jury. Rather, it concedes that it may be identified at trial by its name, as the defendant, and as an insurance carrier that "may be liable for the Plaintiff's damages if it is found that the Plaintiff was injured and that her damages were cause by the [automobile accident at issue]."⁵ Dkt. 25 at 3 n.10; Dkt. 27 at 2, n.4. Defendant objects, however, to any mention of its "contractual relationship" with Plaintiff or that the operative coverage is UIM insurance—a fact which Defendant believes is tantamount to conveying to the jury that it has a direct contractual relationship with Plaintiff given that UIM coverage is "first-party" insurance purchased by automobile owners to cover accidents with...