State Automobile Insurance Co. v. Michael J. Lawrence

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company (“State Auto”) sought a declaratory judgment that its insured, Michael J. Lawrence, was not entitled to underin-sured motorist (“UIM”) coverage under his auto policy. The district court 1 granted summary judgment to State Auto after determining that Lawrence failed to properly make a claim according to the procedures in the policy and under Arkansas law. We affirm.

I. Background

On May 16, 1998, while driving in Texas, Lawrence’s automobile collided with a vehicle driven by Carrie Ledwig. Lawrence filed a personal-injury suit…