GA Foods had in fact filed its motion to add BCBSF while the case was still before the Jacksonville Division of the Court, such that the “third-party proceedings” were initiated there, notwithstanding that GA Foods motion to add BCBSF was not granted until after the case had been transferred to the Tampa Division. Third, the Tampa Court concluded that it was not clear that the forum selection clause applied to “third-party actions being brought supplementary to already initiated proceedings,” as here. Lastly, BCBSF challenged the thirdparty complaint on the grounds that it failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
In other words, BCBSF argued that an exculpatory provision in the Administrative Agreement operated to relieve it of any possible liability to Ga Foods, even if all the other factual allegations in the third-party complaint were true. The Court determined that its interpretation of this exculpatory provision at this stage of the proceedings would be premature and denied the BCBSF’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion. So that, boys and girls, is how a Minnesota case ended up in Tampa. And the merits of the case have not yet even begun to be addressed. ■ From The Bench is a monthly column that features Tom Croft, a leading expert on medical stop loss insurance, offering his insights into recent court decisions and other matters impacting the legal environment in which reinsurers, carriers, MGUs, TPAs, brokers and self-insured groups operate.
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