Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Acme-Goodrich, Inc.

159 N.E.2d 310, 130 Ind. App. 432, 1959 Ind. App. LEXIS 172
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 11, 1959
Docket19,028
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 159 N.E.2d 310 (Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Acme-Goodrich, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Acme-Goodrich, Inc., 159 N.E.2d 310, 130 Ind. App. 432, 1959 Ind. App. LEXIS 172 (Ind. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

Gonas, C. J.

This action was brought upon an insurance policy which is designated as a “Deferred Payment Merchandise Policy,” in which policy the appellee Acme-Goodrich, Inc. is named as the assured and called the “Vendor.” The policy insured poultry sold by the Vendor on a deferred payment basis and covers certain stated risks and perils. Coverage is applicable “for the account of the Vendor and Vendee, until the interest of Vendor is terminated.”

Appellee Owen Wright bought poultry from appellee Acme-Goodrich, Inc., doing business as Goodrich Brothers Company, on a deferred payment basis, and both appellees brought this action, claiming to be “Vendor” and “Vendee” under the policy, to recover for a loss resulting from the deaths of a large number of chickens on June 7, 1952.

*435 The cause was submitted to a jury upon the issues formed by. appellees’ third amended complaint and appellant’s answer thereto. At the conclusion of appellees’ evidence, upon motion granted by the court, appellees amended their third amended complaint by interlineation. A verdict was returned in favor of appellees and judgment was rendered against appellant in accordance with the verdict.

Prior to the trial appellant filed its combined motion under Rule 1-3A, Rules of the Supreme Court, to strike parts of the third amended complaint, and to require parts thereof to be made more specific and to require facts to be stated to support conclusions. This motion was overruled and appellant thereafter filed its demurrer, which was also overruled. Such rulings are presented as error.

The insurance policy sued upon insured against direct loss or damage caused by smoke and further provides that it does not insure against death resulting from huddling, piling or smothering of the poultry unless the same be induced by a peril insured against.

It is alleged in the third amended complaint that on June 7, 1952, a motor attached to a ventilating fan in the brooder house of the appellee, Owen Wright, became shorted thereby causing said motor to smoke and thereby frightening the chickens to such an extent that they huddled in a group on top of and around each other in the brooder house, thereby causing the death of 3154 of them by smothering. There was added to this allegation, by interlineation, at the close of appellees’ evidence the words “which said deaths of said chickens resulted directly, from smoke, or huddling, piling, smothering induced by said smoke.”

The original insurance policy upon which this action is founded provides 'that it attaches on the 1st day of *436 April, 1952 and is to be deemed continuous until can-celled. It further provides that it is to cover live poultry “heretofore or hereafter sold by the Vendor on deferred payments or conditional sales agreements, or furnished by the Vendor under agreements to be reimbursed at the time such poultry is marketed.” The contract entered into between the appellees is dated February 29, 1952.

Attached to the policy and made an exhibit to the third amended complaint is an Endorsement No. 2, also dated April 1, 1952, in which it is provided that:

“B. This insurance does not apply to transaction involving property covered by contracts dated prior to May 1, 1952 and the value of property covered by contracts dated prior to May 1,1952 shall be omitted from reports required by paragraph 5 (e) of the rider form attached to this policy.”

Appellees allege in rhetorical paragraph 7 of their third amended complaint:

“that, as originally issued, said policy of insurance covered any and all contracts of the plaintiff Goodrich Brothers Company, with growers and raisers of poultry, and did not then include the endorsement number two attached thereto and there were no exclusions of coverage as provided in said endorsement number 2, until after the 18th day of June, 1952, after which time the defendant prepared and issued said endorsement number two, and delivered same to the plaintiff, Goodrich Brothers Company, all without the knowledge or consent of said plaintiff, and instructed plaintiff to attach said endorsement number two to said policy, and that by reason thereof, said endorsement number two was not in effect as to said policy at the time of the loss sued upon in this action.”

*437 *436 Appellant’s argument is that when its motion addressed to the third amended complaint was overruled, *437 the effect was that when the amended complaint was thereafter tested by demurrer for insufficient facts, its sufficiency must be determined from the facts stated, without support from any conclusions which are not drawn from facts fully pleaded; that the allegation “that by reason thereof, said endorsement number two was not in effect as to said policy at the time of the loss sued upon in this action,” is a conclusion of law which must be disregarded; that without such allegation it appears from the complaint that while endorsement number two was not a part of the policy at the time it was originally issued and was not in effect at the time of the loss, it was a part of the policy at the time the complaint was filed; that it therefore appears that the insurer and the named insured changed, released, or waived their rights thereunder following the loss. However, it is alleged that said endorsement was issued without the knowledge or consent of the appellee Goodrich, and even if we should hold that the complained-of allegation is a conclusion of law, in our opinion the amended complaint was not subject to demurrer on the grounds set forth in the memorandum thereto, and no error was committed which would require a reversal of the judgment.

.On November 24, 1954 appellant filed a motion for a court trial, without the intervention of a jury, and appellees filed a verified motion in opposition thereto, stating in effect that at numerous times prior to the closing of the issues appelles had notified the judge of the Randolph Circuit Court, in which the cause was then pending, that they requested a jury trial, and that they also told counsel for appellant that they requested a jury trial. The canse was thereafter venued to the Jay Circuit Court, and in that court the motion for court trial was overruled and the issues of the cause *438 were submitted to a jury. Appellant has assigned this as error.

Rule l-8a, Rules of the Supreme Court, was adopted September 25, 1953, effective January 1, 1954. Although it has since been amended, at all times material to the present action it read as follows, as shown by 232 Ind. xliv:

“A jury trial in other than criminal cases, where trial by jury may now be had, may be requested by any party within (not later than) ten (10) days after the closing of the issues upon which the cause is tried. A jury trial not so requested shall be deemed waived.
“A demand for trial by jury may not be withdrawn without the consent of all other parties.”

The parties, of course, have both waived the right to a jury trial.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
159 N.E.2d 310, 130 Ind. App. 432, 1959 Ind. App. LEXIS 172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aetna-casualty-surety-co-v-acme-goodrich-inc-indctapp-1959.