Morris v. Nuzzo, No. 12-3220 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseMorris died after a 2004 collision in Indiana; he was a passenger in Sampson’s vehicle. Sampson was insured by Mid-Century. The Estate made a claim for $50,000, the highest allowable amount. Nuzzo, a citizen of Ohio, was the assigned claims adjustor. The Estate ultimately filed a wrongful death suit. An Indiana state court awarded $1.2 million. Sampson assigned his rights against Mid-Century for an agreement that the Estate would not pursue collection against Sampson personally. In 2011, the Estate sued Mid-Century in California state court, alleging that its bad faith failure to pay the claim resulted in the excess jury verdict against Sampson. The court dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds. The Estate then sued Mid-Century and Nuzzo in Ohio state court, alleging tortious bad faith failure to pay the claim and breach of contract. The case was removed to an Ohio federal district court, then transferred to the district court in Indianapolis, which found that claims against Nuzzo were potentially viable under Ohio law, but that Indiana law governed both claims, so that Nuzzo was fraudulently joined. The court dismissed claims against Nuzzo and denied the Estate’s motion to remand. The Seventh Circuit vacated with instructions to remand, finding that Nuzzo was not fraudulently joined.
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