C & a TRACTOR CO. v. Holland American Ins. Co.

445 So. 2d 1286, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 8034
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 1, 1984
Docket83-321
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 445 So. 2d 1286 (C & a TRACTOR CO. v. Holland American Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
C & a TRACTOR CO. v. Holland American Ins. Co., 445 So. 2d 1286, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 8034 (La. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

445 So.2d 1286 (1984)

C & A TRACTOR COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
HOLLAND AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 83-321.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 1, 1984.
Rehearing Denied February 29, 1984.
Writ Denied April 23, 1984.

*1287 Provosty, Sadler & deLaunay, Albin A. Provosty, Alexandria, for defendants-appellants.

James Lee and John Bennett, Marksville, La., for plaintiff-appellee-appellant.

*1288 McLure & McLure, John G. McLure, Alexandria, William Yarno, Marksville, for defendant-appellee.

Before GUIDRY, CUTRER and STOKER, JJ.

CUTRER, Judge.

This appeal arises out of a suit for damages due to a fire loss of some harvesting equipment (combine).

C & A Tractor Company (C & A), a farm equipment dealer in Marksville, Louisiana, filed suit against Holland American Insurance Company (Holland) seeking to recover the damages due to the fire loss of a combine. C & A, in the alternative, sought recovery from Edgar Coco Agency (Coco) and its errors and omissions insurer, St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company (St. Paul).

Holland denied coverage. Holland filed a third party demand against Elton Bernard, alleging that, if Holland should be cast in judgment, it should have judgment against Bernard, the farmer who had possession of and was using the combine at the time of loss.

Upon trial of the case, the jury made a finding as follows:

"2. In favor of plaintiff, C & A Tractor Company and against defendants, Edgar Coco Insurance Agency and St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, its insurer, in solido, in the full sum of $62,126.32 plus costs."

Pursuant thereto, judgment was rendered in favor of C & A and against Coco and St. Paul for $62,126.32. The suit was dismissed as to Holland along with Holland's third party demand against Bernard. Coco and St. Paul appealed. C & A also appealed and answered the Coco and St. Paul appeal contending that it is entitled to judgment against Coco and St. Paul or, if not, it should have judgment against Holland.

This appeal presents two issues:

(1) Whether Holland's existing "floater policy" with C & A provided coverage of the combine at the time of the loss; and
(2) If Holland's policy provided no coverage, whether Coco and its errors and omissions insurer, St. Paul, was liable under the facts and circumstances presented.

HOLLAND'S COVERAGE

In February 1981, C & A obtained a new combine from the Sperry New Holland (Sperry) manufacturer. The items had an invoice price of $62,126.32. C & A had a "floor plan" arrangement with Sperry, wherein the combine was consigned to C & A for nine months. During the nine months period, Sperry provided casualty insurance on the equipment. After that period of time, C & A was required to pay Sperry for the combine and to acquire its own insurance coverage if it desired. The combine was scheduled to come off the consignment agreement at the end of November 1981.

In August 1981 (while the combine was still insured by Sperry), C & A, through its manager, Rick Rozas, began negotiations with Bernard, a long-standing customer, for the sale of the combine to Bernard. Bernard was a soybean farmer and harvest time was approaching. In October an agreement between Rozas and Bernard was reached as to price. The combine and header were delivered to Bernard's farm on October 24, 1981.

As to payment of the purchase price, Bernard told C & A that he would make arrangements with the Cottonport Bank to pay the purchase price around December 1, 1981, which would be after harvest. C & A contacted the Bank and was informed that, barring some unforeseen catastrophe, Bernard's farming finances at the Bank would be in such a position that a loan could be made for the payment.

On this same date the parties signed a purchase order which contained a notation "purchaser will postdate a check 11/15/81."

After this conversation and on the same day, Rozas asked Bernard to sign the postdated check (November 15th) for the purchase price. Bernard had felt that, weather *1289 permitting, he may be able to finish harvest by that time. Weather and equipment problems caused Bernard to be delayed on his harvest until late December.

C & A waited until late November to present the check for payment. The check was returned as "N.S.F." C & A's visit to the district attorney to file charges on the check was unsuccessful as this was a postdated check. After the postdated check was returned, C & A borrowed money from the Cottonport Bank and paid Sperry for the combine.

On December 10th, "Rick" Rozas, realizing that the Sperry insurance coverage had expired, instructed his secretary, Dorothy Pointer, to call Coco to obtain insurance coverage on the combine in question. "Rick" Rozas testified that, after the postdated check bounced, he considered that C & A still owned the combine and that is the reason he became concerned about coverage.

Holland had created a special insurance package for the members of Deep South Equipment Dealers' Association. This coverage, called a "floater policy," included casualty protection for the dealer's inventory stock. C & A was a member of the association and had previously purchased such a policy from Coco. The policy covered C & A's inventory stock up to the amount of $75,000.00.

Dorothy Pointer, C & A's secretary and bookkeeper, called Coco and talked to Henrietta Bordelon who had been attending to the C & A account. Ms. Pointer told Ms. Bordelon that they wanted to obtain coverage on the combine in question.[1] She gave Ms. Bordelon the serial numbers and price of the combine. Ms. Bordelon told her that she would add the combine to C & A's existing "floater policy" and increase the amount of coverage.

The combine was added to C & A's "floater policy" and on December 25th, Rozas received word that the combine had been destroyed by fire while being used by Bernard. Coco was notified of the loss that same day and again Coco assured Rozas that the loss was covered by Holland. Later, Holland refused to pay for the loss on the ground of no coverage.

Holland's "floater policy" contained the following exclusion:

"2. This policy does not cover:
* * * * * *
(b) Property sold by or under encumbrance to the Insured or property leased or rented by the Insured to others after it leaves the custody of the Insured or an employee of the Insured (but this exclusion shall not apply to property in the custody of a carrier for hire for the purpose of delivery at the risk of the Insured);"

This provision would clearly exclude coverage to the combine if a sale had been confected between C & A and Bernard. The question then arises as to whether such a sale took place.

The necessary elements of a sale are set forth in LSA-C.C. articles 2439 and 2456.[2] According to these articles, ownership and the risks attendant with that ownership pass to the purchaser of a movable as soon as there is an agreement between the seller and the purchaser regarding the object of the sale and the price to be paid, even if the object has not been delivered to the purchaser or if the price has not been paid. We have previously set forth the circumstances surrounding the transfer of *1290

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