State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Havemeier

Background

State Farm sought a declaration about its duty to defend and indemnify Tyler Havemeier in a pending state-court lawsuit brought by Jacob Gatzlaff. Gatzlaff alleges that Havemeier is liable for injuries suffered when a vehicle struck him on June 27, 2016. The insurance policy generally covers damages for which an insured becomes legally liable because of bodily injury, but excludes coverage for an insured who intentionally causes bodily injury or property damage.

Havemeier entered an Alford plea to second-degree assault. An Alford plea allows a person to plead guilty while maintaining innocence, while acknowledging that the prosecution’s evidence could lead to a conviction at trial. During the plea proceeding, Havemeier admitted that his vehicle made contact with Gatzlaff and that he left the scene, but the federal court found that he did not clearly admit that he intentionally struck or injured Gatzlaff. The plea transcript also contained conflicting statements about whether he disputed the evidence or accepted that his conduct had the same effect as intentionally trying to hurt Gatzlaff.

State Farm and Gatzlaff both moved for summary judgment. The court previously denied State Farm’s motion, concluding that the Alford plea did not establish as a matter of law that Havemeier intended to injure Gatzlaff. The court also decided that collateral estoppel—issue preclusion, which can prevent relitigation of an issue decided in an earlier case—did not apply because Gatzlaff was not a party to the criminal proceeding or in privity with Havemeier and did not have a full and fair opportunity to be heard there.

Motion for Interlocutory Appeal

State Farm moved under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) for certification of an interlocutory appeal to the Eighth Circuit. Such certification requires a controlling question of law, substantial ground for difference of opinion, and a conclusion that an immediate appeal may materially advance the litigation. The court described interlocutory appeals as exceptional and said the party seeking certification bears a heavy burden.

Controlling Question of Law

The court held that State Farm had not identified a controlling question of law. State Farm cited no authority establishing that the fact of an Alford plea automatically admits intent in a later civil insurance case. Instead, the factual circumstances and admissions in the particular plea must be examined. Whether Havemeier’s plea established intent was a mixed question of law and fact, and mixed questions are not appropriate for interlocutory appeal under the standard applied by the court.

The court also rejected State Farm’s collateral-estoppel argument as a basis for certification. Even if collateral estoppel could apply, whether to apply it was discretionary. The court further relied on Minnesota authority holding that an insurer generally cannot use an insured’s criminal conviction to prevent an injured third party from litigating coverage under an intentional-act exclusion when the injured party lacked an opportunity to participate in the criminal case. The court concluded that this reasoning applied to Gatzlaff’s coverage dispute.

Substantial Ground for Difference of Opinion

The court held that State Farm also failed to show a substantial ground for disagreement. State Farm identified no conflicting decisions establishing that an Alford plea automatically controls the intent issue or that the specific plea established intent as a matter of law. The court explained that disagreement with its decision, or the possibility that another court might rule differently, was not enough. State Farm’s reliance on a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision did not demonstrate a conflict because that decision was distinguishable and did not undermine the Minnesota Supreme Court authority the court had applied.

Because State Farm failed to satisfy the first two requirements, the court did not decide whether an immediate appeal would materially advance the end of the litigation.

Disposition

The court DENIED State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Motion for Certification for Interlocutory Appeal. It also ordered that the case proceed to a bench trial by Zoom and directed the parties to meet and confer about the trial’s length and format, then file a joint status report by March 19, 2021. Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright signed the order as a United States Magistrate Judge.