Berry v. State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Co., N24C-09-033 DJB

Plaintiff James E. Berry, a Maryland resident, was injured in a rear-end car accident in Delaware.
The at-fault driver (the tortfeasor) was insured by Nationwide, which paid Berry its policy maximum of $25,000.
Berry held a Maryland insurance policy with State Farm, including underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage.
Berry filed suit in Delaware seeking additional UIM benefits under his State Farm policy after exhausting the tortfeasor’s policy.
State Farm, a foreign corporation not domiciled in Delaware, moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.
The core dispute centers on whether Delaware courts may exercise jurisdiction over a non-resident insurer for a UIM contract based solely on the fact that the accident occurred in Delaware.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Delaware jurisdiction over out-of-state insurer for UIM claim	Policy covers U.S. accidents; Delaware can assert jurisdiction	State Farm not domiciled or incorporated in Delaware, no contacts	Delaware lacks personal jurisdiction over State Farm
Nature of UIM claim: contract or tort	UIM triggered by tortious injury in Delaware; jurisdiction proper	UIM claim fundamentally a breach of contract, not tort	UIM claims sound in contract, not tort, so location of accident immaterial
Application of long-arm statute	Coverage language and accident location allow for long-arm jurisdiction	No sufficient minimum contacts or contractual nexus with Delaware	Long-arm statute not satisfied; no due process violation
Impact of Eaton precedent	Eaton was incorrect; contract should be treated like a good in commerce	Eaton directly controls; contract-based claim with no Delaware tie	Eaton controls; no jurisdiction when policy/parties lack state connection

Rapposelli v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co., 988 A.2d 425 (Del. 2010) (UIM lawsuits are contract actions, not tort actions)