In re AIU Ins. Co

In In re AIU Ins. Co., 148 S.W.3d 109, 47 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1093, (Tex. 2004), Louis Dreyfus Corporation, with its office in New York, contracted for pollution insurance with AIU Insurance, a New York corporation with its principal place of business in New York. Id. at 110-11. One of Dreyfus's subsidiaries, Dreyfus Natural Gas, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Texas, was a listed insured. Id. at 111. Thereafter, Dreyfus Natural Gas merged with another company that had a suit pending against it in Hidalgo County for pollution prior to issuance of the policy. Dreyfus sued AIU in Hidalgo County for declaratory judgment seeking insurance coverage for the claim and damages for insurance code violations. AIU sued for declaratory judgment in New York and moved to dismiss the Texas action due to the forum-selection clause. Id. Dreyfus contended that most witnesses lived in Texas, the action involved the application of Texas insurance law, and Texas had a strong public interest in having the insurance coverage issues litigated in Texas and the proceeds distributed in Texas. Id. at 112.