Peterson v. The Travelers Indemnity Co., No. 16-1146 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseAfter plaintiff was injured in a car accident while driving a loaner vehicle from Billion, she filed suit against Billion's insurer, Travelers, for coverage under the commercial insurance policy. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the suit for failure to state a claim. Although plaintiff did not allege facts showing that her tort or punitive damages or attorneys fees would exceed $75,000, it was not legally impossible that she could recover at least that amount. Therefore, the district court had jurisdiction over the suit. The court held that, reading the endorsement together with the declarations page, the district court properly found the policy did not cover auto medical payments; because plaintiff was not insured under the auto medical coverage provision of the policy, the district court properly dismissed her remaining claims; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying her motions to reconsider or amend.
Court Description: Benton, Author, with Wollman and Riley, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Insurance. Although plaintiff did not allege facts showing that her tort or punitive damages or attorney's fees would exceed $75,000, it is not legally impossible that she could recover that amount, and the district court had jurisdiction in the matter; the declarations page in the policy clearly communicated that there was no auto medical coverage and nothing in the endorsements modifies the declaration policy; in the absence of underlying coverage, the district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's remaining claims for fraud, bad faith and unfair trade practice; no error in denying plaintiff's motions for reconsideration and leave to amend.
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