Background
Meagan Taylor was seriously injured when Jatives Moate, allegedly driving drunk at high speed, struck her vehicle. Moate held an Ocean Harbor auto policy purchased in Florida in 2016. The policy did not include bodily-injury liability coverage. Taylor obtained a $1.26 million default judgment against Moate, who then assigned her his potential claims against Ocean Harbor arising from its refusal to defend him.
Taylor sued Ocean Harbor, a Florida insurer not licensed or registered to do business in Georgia, alleging that it should have provided Georgia’s minimum liability coverage and acted in bad faith by refusing to defend or settle. Ocean Harbor issued policies only in states where it was licensed, although it temporarily continued coverage for certain former Florida customers who moved elsewhere, as Florida law required. The trial court dismissed Ocean Harbor for lack of personal jurisdiction and also entered summary judgment for it.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals affirmed because Georgia lacked personal jurisdiction over Ocean Harbor. The insurer was not subject to general jurisdiction: it was incorporated and headquartered in Florida, had not consented to Georgia jurisdiction, and had no Georgia office, agents, or employees.
Nor did Ocean Harbor purposefully avail itself of doing business in Georgia for specific-jurisdiction purposes. Its nationwide policy territory, limited premium collection from former Florida policyholders who moved to Georgia, and payment of a small number of Georgia-related claims did not show that it targeted or solicited Georgia business. Moate also told Ocean Harbor he still lived in Florida. Because the jurisdictional dismissal was proper, the court did not reach Taylor’s arguments about the Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act.
Key Takeaways
- A nationwide coverage territory in an insurance policy does not by itself establish specific personal jurisdiction in Georgia.
- Temporary coverage and premium collection required by another state’s insurance law do not necessarily amount to purposeful availment of Georgia’s market.
- Once the court found no personal jurisdiction over the insurer, it did not decide whether Georgia minimum-coverage requirements applied.
Why It Matters
The decision limits attempts to sue an out-of-state insurer in Georgia based solely on an accident occurring there or a policy’s multistate coverage language. Plaintiffs must show forum-directed conduct by the insurer and a claim arising from that conduct.