Butler v. American Nat. Ins. Co.

235 S.W.2d 185, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1763
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 15, 1950
DocketNo. 9912
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 235 S.W.2d 185 (Butler v. American Nat. Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Butler v. American Nat. Ins. Co., 235 S.W.2d 185, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1763 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinions

ARCHER, 'Chief Justice.

The American National Insurance Company, appellee, is a legal reserve, capital stock life insurance company, licensed and doing business under the provisions of Chap. 3, Title 78, Vernon’s Civil Statutes. As such it has, since its organization in 1905, been engaged in writing ordinary and industrial life insurance policies. This suit was brought by the American National Insurance Company to enjoin the Board of Insurance Commissioners of the State of Texas, appellants, from enforcing its official order promulgated by such Board addressed to the American National Insurance Company, directing that company to cease issuing certain funeral service policies of insurance, identified by such company as “Special Old Line Legal Reserve Funeral Service Policies,” copies of which were attached to and made a part of the order. The particular type of funeral service policies had in fact been previously [186]*186approved by the Board of Insurance Commissioners, but the order complained of recites that thereafter “certain funeral service policy transactions” had 'been submitted to the Attorney General for an opinion as to the legality of the transactions by the American National Insurance Company and Mr. Ben Williams, doing business as the Insured Funeral Service of Austin, Texas. The questioned policies, the issuance of which was inhibited by the order complained of, were a part of the “funeral service policy transactions.” The order further recited that advice had been received in an opinion from the Attorney General that such “transactions described in the facts submitted” were in conflict with Secs. 23 and 24 of Art. 5068 — 1, V.C. S. Therefore, the Board ordered the company to cease and desist issuing such funeral service policies of insurance. All of the instruments and exhibits constituting integral parts of the plan of operations of the American National Insurance Company and Ben Williams, doing business as the Insured Funeral Service, including the questioned policies which were of the type issued in the plan and at which the Board order was directed, and also upon which the Attorney General’s opinion was predicated, were specifically made a part of the official order. Appellee secured a restraining order ex parte and without notice, enjoining and restraining the enforcement of the order described; thereafter, upon a hearing a temporary injunction was issued restraining and enjoining the Board of Insurance Commissioners from enforcing or attempting to enforce any part of the order heretofore described, pending a ■hearing on the merits of the case.

The appeal is based on seven points assigned as error by the trial court.

Point No. 1 is that the policies are part of an illegal plan of operations of the insurance company in contravention of Art. 5068 — 1, Secs. 23 and 24, V.A.C.S.

Points 2 and 3 are directed to the error of the court in granting the temporary injunction because the Board had authority to enter the order complained of and to revoke its approval theretofore made.

Point 4 is that the company had notice and hearing. But, since the appellee is not urging this by way of counterpoint, no further discussion will be made concerning this assignment.

Points 6 and 7 are directed to the failure of the order of injunction to set out the reasons for its issuance, or to describe in reasonable detail the act or acts sought to be enjoined.

The appellee makes four counterpoints.

The first is to appellant’s points Nos. 1, 2 and 3, to the effect that there was no abuse of discretion committed by the trial court in granting the temporary injunction, thereby preserving the status quo of the controversy pending a trial on its merits, because the policy was valid on its face and that the Board could not withdraw its approval.

The second point is that, although appel-lee is not urging failure to give notice as a ground for relief, there were other sufficient grounds to justify the issuance of a temporary injunction, counter to appellants’ point No. 4.

The third point, counter to appellants’ No. 5, is that the company did not have an adequate remedy at law; and the fourth point that the order is in compliance with Rule 683, Rules of Civil Procedure, as counter to appellants’ points Nos. 6 and 7.

The order complained of reads as follows :

“April 11, 1950.
“Subject Considered:
“Funeral service policy transactions of the American National Insurance Compan}r.
“General remarks and action taken:
“It was shown to the Board that on October 31, 1949 this Board, acting through its Chairman, submitted to the Attorney General of Texas, the request for opinion as to whether certain funeral service policy transactions by American National Insurance Company, Galveston, Texas, and Mr. Ben Williams, doing business as Insured Funeral Service of Austin, Texas, or either of them, conflicted with Sections 23 and 24 of Article 5068 — 1, or Article 5053, Vernon’s Texas 'Civil Statutes, as amended, [187]*187describing in the letter the nature of the transactions and attaching to it various exhibits in respect of them.
“It is further shown to the Board that the Attorney General of Texas advised the Chairman of this Board that the transactions described in the facts submitted conflict with Sections 23 and 24 of Article 5068 — 1, V C.S.
“The letter to the Attorney General of Texas dated October 31, 1949, and exhibits attached, as above referred to, are expressly made a part of this Order as though copied verbatim herein.
“It is, therefore, the Order of the Board, that American National Insurance Company, Galveston, Texas, shall as of this date cease and desist the issuance of such funeral service policies of insurance.”

The policy under consideration reads in part as follows: “American National Insurance Company will pay at the direction of the Beneficiary the Face Amount of Insurance herein specified to the Insured Funeral Service of Austin, Texas, and Texas Funeral Directors & Embalmers Association of Dallas, Texas, if the Insured dies while the Policy is in force.”

On April 9, 1949, the Insurance Company wrote the following letter:

“Galveston, Texas,
“April 9, 1949.
“Phillips & Luckey Co.,
“Rockdale, Texas.
“Gentlemen: For 43 years the American National Insurance Company has enjoyed a fine and friendly relation with The Funeral Directors of the State oí Texas. During that time hundreds of thousands of dollars in American National Policy Benefits have gone to defray burial expenses. “At this time we are pleased to announce a new insurance policy and a new association which we think will mean much to you.
“The new policy has been named ‘American National Special Funeral Service Policy.’ The sole purpose of the policy is to defray funeral expenses, and it will be presented to the people of Texas on that basis by a sales force in excess of one thousand salesmen. These salesmen will also represent Insured Funeral Service, which firm will issue a Funeral Service Contact.

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Bluebook (online)
235 S.W.2d 185, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1763, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/butler-v-american-nat-ins-co-texapp-1950.