Glovegold Shipping, Ltd. v. Sveriges Angfartygs Assurans Forening

Glovegold Shipping Ltd. (Glovegold) (plaintiff), a Maltese corporation, insured its cargo vessel, the Anthenor Express (An-Ex), under a hull-and-machinery marine insurance contract with Sveriges Angfartygs Assurans Forening, also known as The Swedish Club (TSC) (defendant), a Swedish marine insurance company. The An-Ex was berthed in Florida at the time it was insured and regularly ran trade routes in and out of Florida ports. TSC advertised a global network of agents able to respond to local claims, including agents located in Florida. The An-Ex suffered catastrophic hull-and-machinery damage while in Florida waters and was towed to a Florida port for repair. Glovegold submitted a claim under its TSC policy for the repairs. TSC dispatched local Florida agents to investigate, and ultimately denied Glovegold’s claim. Glovegold sued TSC in Florida for breach-of-insurance-obligations, arguing that Florida’s long-arm statute conferred specific-personal-jurisdiction over TSC because the An-Ex was berthed in Florida at the time the insurance contract was executed. TSC moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, arguing TSC did not have any contacts with Florida and that there was no nexus between Florida and the policy TSC issued on the An-Ex. The trial court dismissed Glovegold’s claim for lack of personal jurisdiction over TSC. Glovegold appealed.