A federal district court in Louisiana has dismissed a direct action against an insurance company where the underlying automobile accident had not occurred in Louisiana and the applicable insurance policy had not been issued or delivered in Louisiana.
The Case
Acey B. Dunahoe and Celeste Dunahoe filed a lawsuit in Louisiana alleging injuries sustained in a car accident in Texas. The Dunahoes alleged that they had been hit by a truck and trailer driven by Austin P. Tate and owned by Onyx Services, Inc.
The Dunahoes named Mr. Tate and Onyx as defendants, along with three insurance companies, including Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London's (“Underwriters”), in its capacity as excess liability insurer for Onyx.
Underwriters asserted in its answer that the Dunahoes' claim against Underwriters was prohibited under the Louisiana “Direct Action” statute because the accident had not occurred in Louisiana and Underwriters' policy had neither been issued nor delivered in Louisiana. Underwriters moved for summary judgment.
The District Court's Decision
The district court granted the motion.
In its decision, the district court explained that the Louisiana Direct Action law established a plaintiff's right to direct action against an insurer only when:
(1) The accident occurred in Louisiana, or
(2) The policy was issued or delivered in Louisiana.
Because the alleged accident occurred in Texas and Underwriters stated that the insurance policy sued upon had been issued and delivered in Texas (a contention to which the Dunahoes had offered no contradictory evidence), the district court granted Underwriters' motion for summary judgment and dismissed their claims against Underwriters with prejudice.
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].