Thursday, June 09, 2005

8th Circ dismisses State Farm uninsured suit on amount in controversy

Brent E. Rasmussen v. State Farm MutualU.S. Court of Appeals Case No. 04-2491District of Nebraska Beam, Author, with Wollman and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Plaintiff injured in accident with unidentified uninsured motorist settled first with his own State Farm auto policy for the maximum $100k coverage. the Pl then sought to stack the stuck vehicle's Michigan State Farm uninsured policy for an additional $100k. The parties disputed whether the Plaintiff could stack the 2 policies, but the court dismissed as the amount in controversy did not exceed $75K, see 28 USC 1332. Even if the Court deemed the 1st policy's money split evenly between the pL and his wife, See RRS Neb. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2722(b) (it is presumed that monies deposited in a joint marital account are contributed in equal amounts by both parties, at most the Plaintiff may claim as the amount in controversy is $50k. Prospective attorney fees didnt count either.

No comments: