Opinion ID: 865021
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether miga is liable for claims from

Text: NONRESIDENTS. ¶27. We now address whether the claims of non-residents may be covered by statute. MIGA argues that it is not liable for any claim where the claimant is not a resident of Mississippi, while MS Casualty and American Reliable argue that the plain language of the statute states in part that either the claimant or the policyholder must be a resident. “Covered claim” means an unpaid claim, including one of unearned premiums, which arises out of and is within the coverage and not in excess of the applicable limits of an insurance policy to which this article applies issued by an insurer, if such insurer becomes an insolvent insurer and (1) the claimant or insured is a resident of this state at the time of the insured event, provided that for entities other than an individual, the residence of a claimant or insured is the state in which its principal place of business is located at the time of the insured event; or (2) the property from which the claim arises is permanently located in this state. Miss. Code Ann. § 83-23-109(f) (emphasis added); see also Miss. Ins. Guar. Ass’n. v. Byars, 614 So.2d 959 (Miss. 1993). The statute clearly states that either the claimant or the policyholder must be a resident of Mississippi. There is one more step nonresident claimants must make. Miss. Code Ann. § 83-23-123(2) (Rev. 1999) provides: (2) Any person having a claim which may be recovered under more than one (1) insurance guaranty association or its equivalent shall seek recovery first from the association of the place of residence of the insured, except that if it is a first party claim for damage to property with a permanent location, he shall seek recovery first from the association of the location of the property, and if it is a workmen’s compensation claim, he shall seek recovery first from the association of the residence of the claimant. Any recovery under this article shall be reduced by the amount of recovery from any other insurance guaranty association or its equivalent. 14 (emphasis added). Thus, MIGA is liable for claims to Legion from nonresident claimants whose policyholders were located in Mississippi at the time of the insured event if those claimants first tried to seek recovery in their home states and were denied. The chancellor made a detailed finding on the record of each of the seven nonresident claims in dispute. I have reviewed these. And let me give you my analysis per case. Miguel Olivares. ... He is a resident of Chamblee, Georgia. His employer is All Points Construction of Caldonia, Mississippi. There was an application to the Georgia Guaranty Fund and it was denied. And, as per the statute, since the company, the policy holder of the insured, is in Mississippi, then that is a claim that MIGA must pay. They have followed the statutory scheme. Terry Pellegrin, resident of Theodore, Alabama. His employer, A & B Electric Company, is in Pascagoula, Mississippi. They applied to the Alabama Insurance Guaranty Association and were denied. Once again, following the statutory scheme since A & B Electric is in Mississippi, then that is MIGA’s responsibility. Cathy Ryner. Now a resident of Tennessee, we’re convinced. We just couldn’t determine which town in Tennessee. Jackie’s International, a Madison, Mississippi business. Applied to Tennessee Insurance Guaranty Association and denied. So, they come under the statutory scheme and MIGA is liable. Phillip Stockman. Residence, Vernon, Alabama. Master Craft Builders, Inc. of Booneville, Mississippi. The policyholder applied to Alabama Insurance Guaranty Association and was denied. Once again, coming within the statutory scheme. MIGA is liable. Anthony Wallace. Residence, Eufala, Alabama. Employer, Wallace Amusement Company, Columbus, Mississippi. Applied to Alabama Insurance Guaranty and denied. Once again, coming within Mississippi statutory scheme. MIGA is liable. Now, there is a comment here about a possible girlfriend in West, Mississippi, but I don’t think it really matters. The fact is he was treated as though he was an Alabama resident. And that is what seemed to be the case and statutory scheme took care of it. 15 Now, Marvin Gonzales. Residence, Grand Bay, Alabama. Employer, New Palace Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi. Applied to the Alabama Insurance Guaranty Association and was denied. Therefore, comes within the statutory scheme and MIGA is liable. Now, on Louis Curtis Matthews. The vast majority of information that we had on this was that this guy was – Mr. Matthews was a resident, in fact of 1896 Dean, Memphis, Tennessee. A & B Electric is a Meridian, Mississippi Company, but there was never an application to Tennessee for relief. So, the Court holds that the Louis Curtis Matthews claim is not a liability of MIGA. It is clear from the record that the chancellor did not err in that he unquestionably adhered to the statutory scheme of recovery.