American States Insurance Company v. John V. Kearns

15 F.3d 142 AMERICAN STATES INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. John V. KEARNS, doing business as Tahoe Boat Company; Tahoe Boat Company; Donzie Marine Corp.; Bruce R. Elworthy; Deere Credit Service, Inc.; Anne B. Marshall, Defendants-Appellees. No. 92-16266. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Dec. 14, 1993. Decided Jan. 26, 1994. Kathleen E. Hegen, Boornazian, Jensen & Garthe, Oakland, CA, for plaintiff-appellant. Barbara G. Archibald, Hardy Erich Brown & Wilson, Sacramento, CA, for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Before: WALLACE, Chief Judge, GARTH * and CHARLES WIGGINS, Circuit Judges. WALLACE, Chief Judge: 1 American States Insurance Company (American States) appeals from the district court's judgment dismissing its declaratory relief action for lack of jurisdiction. American States sought to establish that under the insurance policy at issue, it has no duty to indemnify or defend Kearns, doing business as Tahoe Boat Company (Tahoe Boat) in a suit brought against Tahoe Boat in state court. The district court's jurisdiction over this diversity suit would be…