State rep’s suit against State Farm reinstated

An appeals court has given a Missouri state representative another shot at his lawsuit against insurance company State Farm.

Jeff Grisamore is suing State Farm for fraud and misrepresentation. He was injured when a driver insured by State Farm rear-ended him in 2003. Grisamore alleges that the insurance company and its agent, Randall Sisk, encouraged him to seek medical treatment and to submit the costs to State Farm, which then refused to pay them.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Stephen Nixon threw out the lawsuit in 2008. State Farm had sought summary judgment, arguing that Grisamore’s suit was barred by the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act and that he was attempting a direct action against the company, instead of the driver that hit him. The company also said its agent, Sisk, couldn’t be sued personally.

However, the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District said this morning that Grisamore was suing for fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, which is recognized as a separate cause of action under Missouri caselaw. Such a suit, the court said, doesn’t hinge on the insurance contract.

The court also said nothing in the Unfair Trade Practices Act prevented that cause of action, and that Sisk can be sued personally.

“The fact that Sisk was acting as an agent for State Farm does not change the fact that Sisk may have made misrepresentations to Grisamore and that Sisk may be liable as a result,” Judge James Welsh wrote for the court. Judges Mark Pfeiffer and Karen King Mitchell concurred.

Grisamore, R-Lee’s Summit, was elected to the House in 2006. He represents a south-central portion of Jackson County, including part of Lee’s Summit and Greenwood.

The case is Jeffrey J. Grisamore v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and Randall Sisk, WD70988.