Benefit Ass'n International, Inc. v. Superior Court

This case concerns what “minimum contacts” are needed for in personam jurisdiction over an insurer that sells “medical benefits” policies to foreigners traveling in California. A Venezuelan insured has filed an action in California against two Mississippi companies. Neither the insurance company issuing the policy, which has offices in Jackson, Mississippi and Miami, Florida, nor its servicing agent, whose only office is in Mississippi, conducts business in California. The suit is over a contract for medical insurance obtained through Venezuelan representatives of a Turks and Caicos Island agency. The contract contains a forum-selection clause conferring exclusive jurisdiction on the courts of Mississippi. The litigation is connected to California only because the insured suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in California and incurred bills the companies have refused to pay. We conclude the court erred in taking jurisdiction over the insurance company and its servicing agent.

Facts and Procedures

In August 1994, Hersz Drach, a Venezuelan citizen, was vacationing in Miami, Florida, planning to return briefly to Venezuela and then go to California to visit family. On…