Allstate Ins. Co. v. Jamie Estes

United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT _____________ No. 00-3640EM _____________ Allstate Insurance Company, * * On Appeal from the United Appellee, * States District Court * for the Eastern District v. * of Missouri. * Jamie N. Estes, * [Not To Be Published] * Appellant. * ___________ Submitted: June 11, 2001 Filed: June 15, 2001 ___________ Before McMILLIAN, RICHARD S. ARNOLD, and HALL,1 Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. This is a fire-insurance case. The question presented is whether an insurance policy issued by the Allstate Insurance Company has become void, either because the insured, Jamie N. Estes, set the fire that caused the loss, or because Ms. Estes 1 The Hon. Cynthia Holcomb Hall, United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, sitting by designation. intentionally misrepresented the nature of the fire. The District Court2 granted summary judgment for Allstate. We affirm. The evidence is clear in this case beyond doubt. A state court, the Circuit Court for St. Louis County, Missouri, has found as a fact, in a criminal prosecution against Ms. Estes, that she started the fire. The same court found, in addition, that Ms. Estes made knowingly false representations in attempting to collect the insurance from Allstate. These findings, which were made on stipulated facts, are conclusive. Substantially for the reasons given by the District Court in its well-reasoned opinion, we affirm. A true copy. Attest: CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT. 2 The Hon. Terry I. Adelman, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, sitting by agreement of the parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). -2-