Aetna Insurance v. Eisenberg

294 F.2d 301
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 12, 1961
DocketNo. 16671
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 294 F.2d 301 (Aetna Insurance v. Eisenberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aetna Insurance v. Eisenberg, 294 F.2d 301 (8th Cir. 1961).

Opinion

VOGEL, Circuit Judge.

The Aetna Insurance Company appeals herein from the dismissal, after hearing, of its petition for a declaratory judgment under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2201, wherein it sought to have a Furriers’ Customers Basic Policy of insurance declared void due to appellee Eisenberg’s alleged fraud in under-reporting values of property covered thereby. The District Court’s opinion is published at 188 F.Supp. 415. The action was commenced after an investigation of fire losses at Eisenberg’s establishment revealed that the latter, a furrier in Little Rock, Arkansas, had greatly understated the value of customers’ stored garments in his reports to appellant. Such reports were required by the policy contract and were the basis for detennining the policy premiums. Eisenberg and Eisenberg’s customers, owners of the stored property, who were allowed to intervene under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 23(a) (3), 28 U.S.C.A., to prevent multiplicity of suits, filed counterclaims seeking, inter alia, a determination that appellant was fully liable under the policy and for redress for specific alleged losses. Some of the intervenors also filed cross-claims against Eisenberg.

The policy in question purportedly insured Eisenberg for a limit of $200,000 on his account “and for account of customers hereinafter described,” the customers being the owners of all types of wearing apparel accepted by Eisenberg for storage, alteration, cleaning, repairing or remodeling. The policy excluded property belonging to Eisenberg, his subsidiaries or affiliates. Upon receiving garments for storage, etc., Eisenberg would, in accordance with the provisions [303]*303of the Basic Policy, issue a “Storage Receipt” which contained the following statement:

“THE FURS, garments or property covered by this Receipt are INSURED as Stipulated Below for $......... under Blanket Policy Number ........... issued by the ........ Insurance Company.”

The total amount of customer declared value, representing the insured amount, would be filled in as well as the number of the policy, and, except where inadvertently omitted, the name “Aetna” would be written in the last blank. As to the issuance of these “receipts” the policy provided as follows:

“1. Each receipt (other than a temporary or interim receipt) given to customers shall in effect provide that
“(a) the customer accepts the receipt as correct in all respects unless the customer notifies the named Assured in writing within ten days after the date of issue thereof of any error or irregularity therein;
“(b) the named Assured will have effected for the benefit of the customer insurance on each article listed in the receipt which shall, in terms usual to such insurance, cover against loss by fire and theft for the value set opposite each item, which value shall also be stated to be the limit of the named Assured’s liability for any loss of or damage to said article;
“(c) the provisions of the receipt shall inure to the benefit of the Company to the same extent that they inure to the benefit of the named Assured;
“(d) the provisions of the receipt shall not extend in kind or amount the insurance provided by the Policy;
“(e) it supersedes any temporary or interim receipt given by the named Assured.
“2. The named Assures* shall use due diligence to maintain during the period of the Policy such protective safeguards as are stated in the proposal for this Policy.
“3. The named Assured shall keep an accurate record of all receipts issued which record shall show with respect to each article the customer’s name and address, description, amount of value stipulated by the customer and where located. Such record shall be open for inspection by authorized representatives of the Company at all reasonable times during the Policy Period and for one year thereafter.
“4. The named Assured shall report to the Company not later than the 15th day of every month the aggregate amount of values set forth in all outstanding receipts (hereinafter called values) as of the last day of the preceding month and pay premium thereon at the rates herein provided. If more than one location is used for storage of the property, the report shall show the values at each respective storage location and separately the total values elsewhere.
**-****
“7. (a) Any loss at the option of the Company may be paid to the named Assured or adjusted with and paid to the customer or the owner of the property.” (Emphasis supplied.)

The policy did not carry a penalty or forfeiture clause in the event of false or fraudulent under-reporting of values.

By endorsement the policy also provided that, in addition to insurance under the “Receipts” method referred to, Eisenberg’s customers could, if they wished, obtain through Eisenberg a “Personal Fur Floater Policy” or certificate which would cover the customer as the named insured for a specific amount as indicated therein and regardless of where the garment might be kept. A storage receipt was also issued in connection therewith. The “Personal Fur Floater Policies” or certificates, as they are sometimes referred to, were prepared by the company in books of 25. The company’s agent would take a complete book to Eisenberg and leave it with him after countersigning the certificates as Aetna’s local agent. The customer therefore had a choice of receiving insurance under the “Receipts” above referred to or the purchase of a [304]*304one-year Personal Fur Floater Policy. If the floater policy was desired, Eisenberg would fill in the pertinent parts of the policy, deliver the original to the customer and give to the local agent carbon copies for the local agent’s and the company’s files.

As to these individual floater policies issued by Eisenberg, the appellant admitted in its complaint:

“ -x- * * with respect to these certificates, the plaintiff [appellant] is informed that the local agent had advised the defendant [Eisenberg] that the amount of declared values in those certificates need not be reported, but that the report should include only the amount of declared values upon those storage receipts where no individual policy was issued. Therefore the plaintiff [appellant] is accepting liability on those certificates as direct policies to the individual customer named in the certificate and will attempt to adjust those claims as separate policies. The amount involved in these certificates is not substantial in relation to the potential total involved in what was actually on hand in value and what was reported.”

We are, therefore, concerned in this proceeding with the rights of those customers who chose to have their garments insured under the “Storage Receipts” method provided by the Basic Policy instead of the individual floater policies or certificates issued thereunder for which Aetna accepts full responsibility.

As noted in the quoted paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Basic Policy, supra, Eisenberg was required to keep accurate records of all storage receipts and submit a monthly report to appellant of the aggregate amount of values in all outstanding receipts.

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Related

Aetna Insurance Company v. Saul Eisenberg
294 F.2d 301 (Eighth Circuit, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
294 F.2d 301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aetna-insurance-v-eisenberg-ca8-1961.