Mezzetti

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant State Farm Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”) moves to dismiss three of Plaintiff Susan Mezzetti’s (“Mezzetti”) five causes of action. In resolving State Farm’s motion, this Court decides two important issues of insurance law.

First, is a lawsuit against an insurer, brought under section 11580(b)(2) of the California Insurance Code, to collect on a judgment secured against the insurer’s insured, a “direct action” under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1), in which case, for diversity of citizenship purposes, the insured’s state of citizenship would also be assigned to the insurer?

Second, does California’s litigation privilege apply to a communication made in the absence of an actual proposal of litigation or to a communication that allegedly obfuscates the existence of an insurance policy?

For reasons set forth below, this Court answers both questions negatively, retains jurisdiction, and denies State Farm’s motion to dismiss.

II. BACKGROUND

On or about May 5, 1995, Mezzetti’s automobile and Nancy Clewett’s (“Clew-ett”) automobile were in an automobile accident. Mezzetti believed that Clewett’s automobile had caused the…