Opinion ID: 64505
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: District-court rulings

Text: The district court determined that, at the end of the day, the parties' motions boil down to the same issue: Whether or not State Farm's conversion of its HO-1, HO-3, and HO-5 homeowner policies to its HO-W homeowner policy form, effective February 1, 2005, was in violation of Louisiana law? In the district court, State Farm argued that, as a matter of law, conversion to the HO-W form is proper under Section 22.635.4 and the Louisiana Legislature enacted the provision for the very purpose State Farm seeks, to convert insurance policy forms. Moore argued that the conversion constituted a cancellation or nonrenewal of existing homeowner policies and violates the prohibitory laws of Louisiana, which disallow cancellation or nonrenewal of a homeowner insurance policy that has been in effect for more than three years. See La.Rev.Stat. Ann. §§ 22:636.2(D), :635.3(C). Moore asserted that in passing Section 22:635.4, the legislature did not rescind the prohibitory statutes, but rather specifically recognized the application of the prohibitory laws to conversions of policy forms by using the language that the conversion shall not be grounds for the cancellation or nonrenewal of any policy by the insurer. La.Rev. Stat. Ann. § 22:635.4(C). Further, Moore urged that, because the conversion results in a rate change, State Farm failed to comply with the statutory requirement that it file a rate-change request with the Commission. See La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 22:1401. The district court concluded that the plain language of Section 22:635.4 supports the conversion. Specifically the district court concluded that Section 22:635.4 took an approved conversion outside the scope of the prohibitory statutes. The district court found no genuine issues of material fact in dispute, granted State Farm's motions for summary judgment and denied Moore's motions. By separate orders, the district court granted State Farm's motion for an injunction regarding the remanded portions of Moore IV, thereby barring Moore from seeking relief in state court on the same issue the federal court had decided in State Farm's favor. See 28 U.S.C. § 2283 (Anti-Injunction Act). The district court also denied State Farm's request for sanctions and denied Moore's motion for new trial. Moore appeals.