William Riordan v. State Farm Mutual Automobile I

I. BACKGROUND

A. Riordan’s Accident and Recovery of Benefits Prior to Litigation.

On October 21, 2004, William Riordan was injured in a car accident. It is undisputed that the other driver was at fault. At the time of the accident, Riordan and his wife were insured under three State Farm automobile insurance policies. Each policy provided uninsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage with limits of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident.

In January 2005 Riordan retained an attorney, Mary Kay Starin, to help him obtain benefits from State Farm. Between the end of January and August 2006, State Farm paid Riordan UIM benefits totaling $30,586.59.

B. Commencement of Litigation to Recover Benefits.

Represented by new counsel, Justin Starin, Riordan filed suit against State Farm in federal district court on March 28, 2007, seeking “$150,000.00, less that which State Farm has already paid” and “for other and further relief as the Court shall deem just and proper.” Riordan asserted that State Farm was required to provide $150,000.00 of UIM coverage, the “stacked” total of UIM coverage under the three policies. After being served with Riordan’s Complaint but before filing an…