McBibbon v. Farmers Insurance Exchange
2015 UT 3
| Utah | 2015Background
- Glenda McGibbon was injured in an automobile accident and sued; she had an insurance policy with Farmers that provided uninsured motorist coverage.
- Farmers intervened as defendant (to contest liability on behalf of the uninsured motorist) and filed an answer; the uninsured driver was later dismissed by stipulation, leaving Farmers as sole defendant.
- Farmers moved to compel arbitration based on an arbitration clause in McGibbon’s policy after she refused to stipulate to arbitration; the district court granted the motion and dismissed her complaint.
- McGibbon filed a petition with the Utah Supreme Court seeking interlocutory review of the district court’s order compelling arbitration; the Supreme Court provisionally granted review subject to jurisdictional determination.
- The Supreme Court held the district court’s order compelling arbitration was a final order because it left nothing for the district court to resolve after arbitration, and concluded McGibbon failed to file a timely notice of appeal in the district court.
- Because she neither filed a notice of appeal in the district court within the rule 4 deadline nor otherwise satisfied rules 3 and 4, the Supreme Court dismissed her appeal for lack of jurisdiction without addressing the merits.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the order compelling arbitration was interlocutory or final | McGibbon treated the order as subject to interlocutory review (petition to Supreme Court) | Farmers treated the order as a final, appealable order | Order was final under Zions Management (leaves nothing for district court) |
| Whether filing a petition for interlocutory review in the Supreme Court satisfied the notice-of-appeal requirements for a final order | McGibbon argued her petition in the Supreme Court should suffice | Farmers argued rule 3/4 required filing a notice in district court within 30 days | Petition to Supreme Court does not satisfy rules 3 and 4; notice must be filed in district court |
| Whether lack of a properly filed district-court notice of appeal can be cured by filings in the appellate court | McGibbon relied on having sought appellate review in the Supreme Court | Farmers relied on precedent requiring timely district-court filing | Failure to file notice in district court is a jurisdictional defect and cannot be cured by appellate filing |
| Whether the Supreme Court could treat the petition copy (or its form letter) as a sufficient notice of appeal | McGibbon pointed to cases where substance over caption sufficed | Farmers pointed to rule requirements and that the supreme court letter lacked required information | The Supreme Court letter and McGibbon’s filings did not meet rule 3 content/service requirements; jurisdiction lacking |
Key Cases Cited
- Powell v. Cannon, 179 P.3d 799 (Utah 2008) (stay pending arbitration is not final if court retains jurisdiction)
- Zions Mgmt. Servs. v. Record, 305 P.3d 1062 (Utah 2013) (order compelling arbitration is final when nothing remains for the trial court)
- Clark v. Archer, 242 P.3d 758 (Utah 2010) (rules 3 and 4 provide the procedure for appeal from final orders; failure to follow is jurisdictional)
- Cedar Surgery Ctr., L.L.C. v. Bonelli, 96 P.3d 911 (Utah 2004) (substance of notice controls; miscaptioning may be harmless if district court copy filed)
- Prowswood, Inc. v. Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 676 P.2d 952 (Utah 1984) (failure to timely perfect appeal is a jurisdictional failure requiring dismissal)