American Indemnity Co. v. Jamison

62 S.W.2d 197, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 922
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided March 1, 1933·No. No. 4289.·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

JOHNSON, Chief Justice.

Eor a statement of the case we refer to the opinion on former appeal, (Tex. Civ. App.) 42 S.W.(2d) 801, except as herein noted for the purpose of considering the matters presented on this appeal.

Appellant assigns as error the action of the trial court in sustaining appellee’s special exceptions to paragraphs 3 and 4 of defendant’s amended answer. The pleadings so stricken out allege, as a defense and estoppel to plaintiff’s right to recover, substantially, the following facts: That plaintiff was a married man; that the insured automobile was community property; that it was purchased for use of the family, especially the wife; that it was with plaintiff’s knowledge and consent that his wife was driving the automobile when wrecked; that she was negligent in not keeping a proper lookout for traffic; did not have the automobile under control ; and was at the time violating article 794 of the Penal Code of the State of Texas, in that she was driving it on a public highway at a rate of speed in excess of fifteen miles per hour, to wit, thirty or thirty-five miles per hour, while passing another automobile driven in the opposite direction; and by suddenly pulling or steering the car to the right on a graveled shoulder of the highway, the rear wheel skidded, she lost control, the car went into the ditch, turned over several times, wrecked.

Appellant contends, in substance, that: By reason of the wife’s acts, proximately causing the loss or injury to the automobile, being in violation of the Penal Code, and negligence per se, the plaintiff cannot recover upon the policy of insurance indemnifying him against loss or injury to the automobile resulting from “accidental collision or upset.” That construed in the light of the dangerous character of the subject-matter of the contract (an automobile), and the situation and relation of the parties thereto, it should be held that there was an implied obligation on appellee that he would operate the automobile in a careful manner, not in violation of the law. That the parties did not have in mind to, and that appellant did not thereby contract to, insure appellee against a loss or injury to his automobile resulting from a violation of the law, constituting negligence, on the part of appellee or his wife. That the word “accident” as used in the insuring con *198 tract should be given a restricted meaning to exclude “accidental collision and upsets” resulting from acts of appellee or his wife in violation of the law, constituting negligence per se.

To give the word “accident” the restricted meaning cited by appellant in support of its contention, 1 O. J. § 5, p. 392, “to be an occurrence to which human fault does not contribute,” would reduce the insurance clause to cover only those unusual and unexpected accidental collisions and upsets of an automobile happening without negligence. . We do not find this tó be the rule of construction placed upon the word, as is more fully shown by the text cited by appellant, when applied to accidental insurance, and as placed upon it by the appellate courts of other states. In legal contemplation “accident” represents the op.posite of “intent,” 1 O. J. § 4, p. 392; and in its most commonly accepted meaning the word denotes an event that takes place without one’s foresight or expectation, 1 O. J. § 3, p. 392; and does not exclude that human fault called negligence, but is recognized 'as an occurrence arising from the carelessness of men, 1 C. J. § 5, p. 393. And quoting from the same text, section 44, p. 41T, we find the rule of construction to be: “The terms used in an accident insurance policy should be construed in their' plain, ordinary, and popular sense.” And section 72, p. 425: “The terms ‘accident’ and ‘accidental’ as used in insurance policies covering death or injuries by accident, or accidental means, are presumed to be employed in their ordinary and popular sense * * * and the definition does not exclude an injury caused in, part by the negligence of the insured.” And section 123, p. 450: “In the absence of any stipulation in the policy relative to the matter, the negligence of the insured will not affect the liability of the insurer.” And section 225, p. 487: “The contract evidenced by a policy of accident insurance is entered into by the insured for the purpose of obtaining protection in case of accidental injuries, whether ox" not they result from thoughtlessness, carelessness, or negligence; and it is accordingly well settled that it is no defense to an action on such a policy that the negligence of the insured caused or contributed to the injury, unless, of course, the policy expressly excepts from the risk accidents due to insured’s negligence.” The above rules of construction have been followed by the following courts and others: Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. Haley, 129 Miss. 525, 529, 92 So. 635, 23 A. L. R. 1470; Messersmith v. Amer Fidelity Co., 232 N. Y. 161, 133 N. E. 432, 19 A. L. R. 876; McMahon v. Hanna Pearlman et al., 242 Mass. 367, 136 N. E. 154, 23 A. L. R. 1467; Pawlicki v. Hollenbeck, 250 Mich. 38, 229 N. W. 626; Security Underwriters v. Rousch Motor Co., 88 Ind. App. 112, 161 N. E. 569. There are no words or phrases in the policy of insurance issued by appellant to appellee in this case which in any way modify, limit, or restrict the ordinary and customary meaning of the word “accident,” as applied to accidental collisions or upsets in the insuring clauses of the policy. We are of the opinion that the appellant would be bound by the previous constructions placed upon the word as applied to accidental insurance. The assignment is overruled.

As the limitation of liability and method of determining same, the policy in question provided: “This Company’s liability for loss or damage to the automobile described herein shall not exceed the actual cash value thereof at the time any loss or damage oceui-s * * ⅜ nor what it would then cost to repair or replace the automobile or parts thereof with others of a like kind and quality.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

American Indemnity Co. v. Jamison, 62 S.W.2d 197, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 922 (Tex. Ct. App. 1933).

62 S.W.2d 197 (American Indemnity Co. v. Jamison) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Smither v. Progressive County Mutual Insurance Co.
76 S.W.3d 719 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Schaefer v. American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Co.
65 S.W.3d 806 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Carlton v. Trinity Universal Insurance Co.
32 S.W.3d 454 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Argonaut Southwest Insurance Company v. Maupin
485 S.W.2d 291 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1972)
Northwestern National Insurance Company v. Cope
448 S.W.2d 717 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1969)
Employers Casualty Company v. Brown-McKee, Inc.
430 S.W.2d 21 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1968)
Massachusetts Bond. & Ins. Co. v. Orkin Exterm. Co.
416 S.W.2d 396 (Texas Supreme Court, 1967)
Orkin Exterminating Co. v. Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co.
400 S.W.2d 20 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1966)
Manhattan Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Melton
329 S.W.2d 338 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1959)
Dunmire Motor Co. v. Oregon Mutual Fire Insurance
114 P.2d 1005 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1941)
Home Ins. Co. v. Fouche
149 S.W.2d 977 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1941)