Attorneys Mark Thomas and Emma Bradbury recently obtained the dismissal of a New York attorney and law firm in a tortious interference with an existing contract case. The claim arose out of Plaintiff’s claim with his insurance company after damaging his boat. The insurance company in turn hired the Defendants to handle the claim. Plaintiff asserted that the Iowa District Court should have exercised personal jurisdiction over the Defendants based upon the temporary and indirect relationship of the insurance company’s retention of Defendants to provide legal services. Plaintiff also desired to hold Defendants liable for acts and omissions undertaken as part of their duties as the attorneys to the insurance company. The Iowa District Court found no evidence establishing any contact between Defendants and Iowa. The Court further agreed that the fact that this claim arose out of Iowa was “a random, fortuitous, and attenuated event.” Consequently, the Court dismissed Defendants as a matter of law.
Jason Starr v. National Specialty Insurance Co. et al.