VIRGINIA O. KIGHT, APPELLANT,
v.
NEW JERSEY MANUFACTURERS INSURANCE COMPANY, A FOREIGN CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal held that a foreign liability insurer cannot be sued in Florida under the state's long-arm statute merely because its insurance policy provided nationwide coverage for automobile accidents. The court affirmed that such a policy does not establish sufficient minimum contacts with Florida to satisfy due process requirements for personal jurisdiction.
A foreign insurer's contract entered into in a foreign state insuring a foreign resident against liability resulting from automobile accidents occurring anywhere in the United States does not constitute the minimum contacts required by due process to confer personal jurisdiction over the foreign insurer in any state where an accident may occur.
[1] A foreign insurer's contract entered into in a foreign state, insuring a foreign resident against liability for accidents occurring anywhere in the United States, does no…
[2] The mere existence of a liability insurance policy covering risks nationwide does not subject a foreign insurer to the jurisdiction of any state where an accident occurs,…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A foreign insurer's contract entered into in a foreign state insuring a foreign resident against liability resulting from an automobile accident occurring anywhere in the United States does not constitute such a minimum contact with all such states as is required by the federal constitutional due process requirement in order to confer in personam jurisdiction over the foreign insurer in any state where an accident may occur and liability arise.”
Statement of the legal principle that establishes the holding and core rule regarding jurisdictional requirements for foreign insurers
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceNew Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, a foreign insurer, sold an automobile liability policy in New Jersey to a New Jersey resident that provide…
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COWART, Judge.
This case involves whether a person injured in Florida by a non-resident motorist can acquire jurisdiction over a foreign liability insurer under section 48.193(l)(d), Florida Statutes (1981), merely because the liability policy issued in a foreign state provided coverage for risks anywhere in the United States.
Appellee, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, a foreign insurer, sold, in New Jersey, a motor vehicle policy to a New Jersey resident covering risks as to accidents occurring anywhere in the United States. Appellant Kight sued the non-resident insured and insurer in Florida as a result of an automobile accident occurring in Florida and attempted to obtain service of process on the foreign insurer under the Florida long arm statute, section 48.193, Florida Statutes (1981). The foreign insurer’s contractual obligations to defend its insured and to pay sums which its insured becomes legally liable to pay as a result of automobile accidents occurring anywhere in the United States is the only “contact” that the foreign insurer is alleged to have with or in the State of Florida.
Appellant appeals a non-final order quashing service of process attempted to be made on the foreign insurer under the Florida long arm statute. We affirm. •
A foreign insurer’s contract entered into in a foreign state insuring a foreign resident against liability resulting from an automobile accident occurring anywhere in the United States does not constitute such a minimum contact with all such states as is required by the federal constitutional due process requirement in order to confer in personam jurisdiction over the foreign insurer in any state where an accident may occur and liability arise. World-Wide Volkswagen, Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980); Rush v. Savchuk, 444 U.S. 320, 100 S.Ct. 571, 62 L.Ed.2d 516 (1980); Kulko v. Superior Court of California, 436 U.S. 84, 98 S.Ct. 1690, 56 L.Ed.2d 132 (1978); Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958); International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). See also, John E. Nettles, Truck Insurance Exchange, etc. v. White, 439 So. 2d 1048 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Lakewood Pipe of Texas, Inc. v. Rubaii, 379 So. 2d 475 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), dism’d, 383 So. 2d 1201 (Fla.1980), Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company v. Mills, 367 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), cert. den., 376 So. 2d 74 (Fla.1979).
We express direct conflict with National Grange Mutual Insurance Company v. Fondren, 433 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983).
AFFIRMED.
ORFINGER, C.J., and WATSON, Associate Judge, concur.
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S.C. Ins. Guar. Ass'n v. Underwood, 527 So. 2d 931 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)…to the laws of South Carolina; that SCIGA had not been authorized to engage in business in Florida; and that SCIGA did not and had not maintained any offices nor solicited business in Florida. In Kight v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, 441 So. 2d 189 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, a foreign insurer, sold, in New Jersey, a motor vehicle policy to a New Jersey resident covering risks as to accidents occurring anywhere in the United States. Kight sued the nonreside…
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Auto Club Ins. Ass'n v. Meyer, 458 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)…the trial court’s denial of defendant insurance company’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under the Florida long-arm statute, section 48.193 Florida Statutes (1983). We agree with Kight v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co., 441 So. 2d 189, 190 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983) that A foreign insurer’s contract entered into in a foreign state insuring a foreign resident against liability resulting from an automobile accident occurring anywhere in the United States does not constitute such a minim…
Authorities Cited
- Int'l Shoe Co. v. State OF Wash., 326 U.S. 310 (U.S. 1945)
- World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286 (U.S. 1980)
- Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235 (U.S. 1958)
- Kulko v. Superior Court of Cal. in & for the City & Cnty. of San Francisco (horn, 436 U.S. 84 (U.S. 1978)
- Rush v. Savchuk, 444 U.S. 320 (U.S. 1980)
- State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Birnbaum, 379 So. 2d 475 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)
- Ky. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Mills, 367 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)
- Nettles v. Corkleigh E. White, 439 So. 2d 1048 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)
- Nat'l Grange Mut. Ins. Co. v. Fondren, 433 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)