Cain v. Robinson Lumber Co.

273 S.W.2d 741, 1954 Mo. App. LEXIS 404
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 21, 1954
DocketNo. 28980
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 273 S.W.2d 741 (Cain v. Robinson Lumber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cain v. Robinson Lumber Co., 273 S.W.2d 741, 1954 Mo. App. LEXIS 404 (Mo. Ct. App. 1954).

Opinion

WOLFE, Commissioner.

This is a claim for compensation against O. A. Robinson and R. B. Robinson, doing business as Robinson Lumber Company, and their insurer, Highway Casualty Company. It was .first heard before a referee for the Division of Workmen’s Compensation, and,, upon application for review; before the Commission. The Commission found that the claimant suffered a compensable injury and directed that the insurer pay to him $20 per week for 27 weeks, and further found that the employers and insurer were liable “for whatever medical, surgical and hospital expenses” the employee had incurred. Upon appeal by the insurer the circuit. ■ court affirmed the award and the insurer again appeals.

The claimant suffered an injury to his right index' finger on February 21, 1952, when his hand was caught between two logs in his employers’ lumber yard. The accident occurred during the course of, and arose out - of, the claimant’s employment. Upon this there is no dispute, but the insurer claims that its policy covering the liability of the employers had been canceled prior to-the'accidental injury and that by reason of this the Commission erred in finding that it was liable for the award. .

The evidence as it relates to the insurance is as follows. A standard Workmen’s Com-' pensation and Employers’ Liability Policy [743]*743was issued by the Highway Casualty Company effective as of September 13, 1951, to O. A. Robinson and R. B. Robinson, doing business as Robinson Bros. Lumber Co. The policy was for one year. It provided that the premiums were based upon -the entire remuneration paid to the employees of the insured. The amount of the premium was to be paid in quarterly installments and was. subject to adjustment to be -made quarterly. The initial premium paid was an estimated advance subject to the, quarterly adjustment mentioned. The policy .further provided that the first report of wages paid was to become due on December 13, 1951, and that the quarterly premium then computed to be due was to be paid immediately.

The policy also provided:

“This policy may be canceled at anytime by either of the parties upon written notice to the other party stating when, not less than ten days thereafter, cancelation shall be effective. The effective date of the cancelation shall then be the end of the Policy Period. * * * Notice of cancelation shall be served upon this Employer as the law requires, but, if no different requirement, notice mailed to the address of this Employer herein given shall be a sufficient notice, and the check of the Company, similarly mailed, a sufficient tender of any unearned premium.”

The employers paid an initial premium of $325 but made no report- of the wages paid over the first quarterly period. The insurer mailed to them on December 1, 1951, a form called Audit Adjustment wherein the employers were supposed to insert the amount of their payroll and return the form to the insurer for the computation of the second quarterly premium. This was'not returned to the insurer so a warning notice was mailed to the employers stating that a notice of cancellation would be sent unless the Audit Adjustment form was returned. A carbon copy of the warning notice dated December 20, 1952, was addressed to Potosí, Michigan, instead of Potosí, Missouri, which was the employers’ place of business. On January 3, 1952, the insurer deposited in the mail at its home office in .Chicago, a cancellation notice informing the insured that the policy was canceled effective January 14, 1952, for nonpayment of premium. A carbon copy of the notice properly addressed to the insured was put in evidence together with a post office receipt for a letter from the Highway Casualty Company to Robinson Bros. Lumber Company. The receipt bore the same dáte as the' cárbon copy of the cancellation notice and an employee of the insurer testified that such receipts were only taken by them for mail containing notice of cancellation.

On the same day that this notice was mailed to the employers the insurer also directed a letter to the Division of Workmen’s Compensation of the Department of Lábor and Industrial Relations of Missouri, stating that the insurer had canceled its policy with the Robinson Bros. Lumber Company. This was received by the Commission and was put in evidence.

One of the employers testified that they had received no notice of cancellation and did not know that there had been any cancellation of the policy until March 7, 1952. It was agreed that the postmaster of Potosi, if called, would testify that no registered mail had been received for the Robinson Bros. Lumber Company in January of 1952.

On January 25, 1952, the insurer’s agent sent a telegram to the insurer requesting reinstatement of the policy but no action was taken on the request. A computation of the premium due up to the effective date of the cancellation notice showed a balance of $22.79 owing to the insurer.

The Commission found that the liability for the injury was insured by the Highway Casualty Company and that the Highway Casualty Company had failed to notify the employers of the cancellation as required by the terms of the policy and that the policy consequently was in force on Febfu-ary 21,1952, when the claimant was injured.'

The appellant contends that the award and finding is contrary to all of the evidénce [744]*744'and the undisputed facts. To this contention the employers first counter- with the ^assertion that the Commission was without 'jurisdiction to- entertain the defense that the policy had been canceled.

We held in Liechty v. Kansas City Bridge Co., Mo.App., 155 S.W.2d 297, that the Commission had those powers which are necessary to the proper discharge of its .duties and that it could determine purely legal questions, such as whether the employee was covered by a contract of insurance. Thus it would, be essential to the fixing. of liability to determine whether or not a contract of insurance had been canceled prior to the injury.

The respondent relies upon the cases of Kelly, v. Howard, 233. Mo.App. 474, 123 S.W.2d 584; Brollier v. Van Alstine, 236 Mo.App. 1233, 163 S.W.2d 109, and Allen v. Raftery, 237 Mo.App. 542, 174 S.W.2d 345. None of these cases, however, has to dp with cancellation of a policy in accordance with its terms.

•[1] Our Liechty case, supra, was transferred to the Supreme Court on the assumption that it was in conflict with the case of Kelly v. Howard, but in Liechty v. Kansas City Bridge Co., Mo.Sup., 162 S.W.2d 275-, the Supreme Court held that there was no conflict and under that ruling the Commission may decide whether or not the policy pf insurance has been canceled by virtue of the terms and express conditions of the contract. To hold otherwise would invalidate any cancellation provision for which the parties may have contracted unless an independent proceeding was first brought in court to pass upon the matter, and, as we pointed out in the Liechty case, no such piecemeal practice is within the contemplation of . the act.

Since the Commission had jurisdiction to determine whether or not the policy, had been canceled, we must consider appellant’s. contention that the finding is contrary to the evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
273 S.W.2d 741, 1954 Mo. App. LEXIS 404, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cain-v-robinson-lumber-co-moctapp-1954.