Page:Scottsdale Insurance Co. v. Morrow Valley Land Co.pdf/8

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Cite as 2012 Ark. 247

Arkansas company with offices in Lincoln, Arkansas; and that the policy was purchased and issued to provide liability protection for one of the farms that Morrow Valley owns and operates in Morrison, Tennessee. Morrow Valley later added the poultry farm located in Waldron, Arkansas, to the policy. The policy was issued to Morrow Valley, at its principal address in Lincoln, Arkansas, by INSURISK Excess & Surplus, with an address in Little Rock, Arkansas. From these facts, we conclude that the circuit court did not err in finding that Arkansas is the state with the most significant relationship. The circuit court acknowledged that the poultry farm was physically located in Tennessee, but did not find that fact sufficient to overcome the other factors in concluding that Arkansas has the most significant relationship to the transaction and parties in this case, and we agree.

II. Summary Judgment on Duty to Defend

We then turn to whether, under Arkansas law, the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment. A party is entitled to summary judgment if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law" on the issue set forth in the party's motion. Ark. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2) (2011). The burden of proving that there is no genuine issue of material fact is upon the moving party. Ryder v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 371 Ark. 508, 268 S.W.3d 298 (2007). On appellate review, we must determine whether summary judgment was proper based on whether the evidence presented by the moving party left a material question of fact unanswered. Id. We view the proof in the light most favorable to the party resisting the

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