Opinion ID: 171219
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Boellstorff's Individual Action

Text: Boellstorff brought this individual action against State Farm on October 31, 2005, alleging violations of the No Fault Act that mirrored those alleged in Clark's complaint. As had Clark, she sought (1) reformation of the insurance policy to include enhanced PIP benefits, and (2) damages for alleged breach of contract, willful and wanton breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Because Boellstorff filed suit over four years after her accident, State Farm moved to dismiss the case as untimely under the No Fault Act's three-year statute of limitations. See Nelson v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 419 F.3d 1117, 1120 (10th Cir.2005) ([W]hen an action for benefits is brought under CAARA, it is subject to CAARA's three-year statute of limitations.). The district court converted the motion to dismiss into a Rule 56 motion for summary judgment and both parties filed supplementary materials. State Farm maintained that Boellstorff's cause of action accrued when she received the letter listing her PIP benefits or, alternatively, when she first retained counsel. Boellstorff countered that her claims were in fact timely. She also asserted that the class action tolling doctrine initially announced in American Pipe saved her claims because the Clark action tolled the statute of limitations. In an Order dated September 11, 2006, the district court found that Boellstorff's cause of action accrued on September 25, 2001, the date on which State Farm sent her the letter informing her of the PIP benefits to which she was entitled. As such, the No Fault Act's three-year limitations period had expired by the time Boellstorff commenced her individual action. Having held Boellstorff's claims untimely, the court continued on and concluded that American Pipe tolling protected her claims because of the pendency of the Clark action, which was filed before her claims accrued and remained pending at the time Boellstorff filed the instant, individual action. The court rejected State Farm's argument that Boellstorff had forfeited the benefits of the class action tolling doctrine by filing her individual action before the Clark court decided whether to certify a class. State Farm quickly moved the court to certify the issue for appellate review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). [8] The district court accepted this invitation, and, on February 20, 2007, amended its September 11 Order to certify for review this question: whether the opportunity to invoke the class action toll of American Pipe is lost by a putative class member who commences an individual action prior to a decision as to class certification. . . . We granted State Farm's Petition for Permission to Appeal on May 25, 2007. Hence, we exercise jurisdiction pursuant to § 1292(b). [9] We answer the certified question in the negative.