United States Court of Appeals

For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 18-2507

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Delaine Petersen

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant

v.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee

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Appeal from United States District Court 

for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines

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Submitted: January 17, 2019

 Filed: February 7, 2019 

[Unpublished]

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Before GRUENDER, WOLLMAN, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.
Delaine Petersen appeals the district court’s dismissal of his action against

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State FarmMutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm) for money allegedly

due under an insurance policy issued by State Farm and covering his motorcycle. 

In April 2014, Petersen, a resident of Carroll County, Iowa, sought insurance

for a custom-built motorcycle. Because he had devoted significant time and personal

expense to constructing the vehicle, he valued the motorcycle at $35,000 and

requested insurance that would pay that amount in the event of total loss. Kirk

Huehn, a State Farm insurance agent, assured Petersen that he could provide an

appropriate policy. State Farm subsequently issued Petersen an insurance policy for

the period of April 24, 2014 to April 24, 2015 covering Petersen’s motorcycle for loss

or damage up to $35,000. The policy expressly provided that “legal action relating

to [physical damage] coverages” against State Farmmust be brought “within one year

immediately following the date of the accident or loss.” Dist. Ct. Dkt. 3-2 at 35.

In April 2015, an incident caused a total loss of the motorcycle. Petersen

sought the $35,000 policy limit from State Farm, but State Farm denied the claim. 

In September 2016, Petersen sued State Farm in the Iowa District Court for Polk

County, alleging the company had fraudulently or deceitfully failed to pay him under

his policy. In February 2018, Petersen voluntarily dismissed the case without

prejudice. The next month, he refiled his claim in the Polk County district court,

alleging State Farm had denied coverage in bad faith. He did not name Huehn as a

party. State Farm, an Illinois corporation, removed the case to the United States

District Court for the Southern District of Iowa based on diversity jurisdiction. It

then filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim under Fed. R.

Civ. P. 12(b)(6), asserting that the action on the policy is barred by the policy’s oneyear limitation provision. The district court granted the motion. The district court

The Honorable Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, United States District Judge for

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the Southern District of Iowa.

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held that Petersen’s action is one for breach ofthe insurance policy contract by failing

to pay the amount owing under the policy and thus is barred by the policy’s one-year

time limit for bringing legal action. 

Having jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and carefully considering the

record before us, we find no reversible error in the district court’s order. We

therefore affirm the judgment of the district court. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.

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