Coastal Rubber & Gasket Co. v. Gulf Insurance

793 F. Supp. 712, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10144, 1992 WL 151868
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedJuly 1, 1992
DocketCiv. A. No. S88-0787(R)
StatusPublished

This text of 793 F. Supp. 712 (Coastal Rubber & Gasket Co. v. Gulf Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coastal Rubber & Gasket Co. v. Gulf Insurance, 793 F. Supp. 712, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10144, 1992 WL 151868 (S.D. Miss. 1992).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

DAN M. RUSSELL, Jr., District Judge.

On March 9, 1992, a bench trial was had in the above styled civil action which arises from a complaint for declaratory judgment and other relief filed by Coastal Rubber & Gasket Company, Inc. (hereinafter “Coastal”) against the defendant Gulf Insurance Company (hereinafter “Gulf”). Coastal seeks an adjudication that it was an insured of Gulf from December of 1971 until September of 1975 under a standard special multi-peril policy with a products liability endorsement.

Facts

Coastal was incorporated on October 30, 1972, and is a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Mississippi. It was established as an industrial rubber supply company located in Moss Point, Mississippi.

The shareholders of Coastal from October 30, 1972 through September 23, 1974, were Horace W. Hebert, Clayton Storment, Pearl Storment and C.G. Melville, Jr. During this period, these individuals were President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Vice-President, respectively, of the corporation. Melville ceased being a shareholder and officer from September 24, 1974 through September 14, 1975. James M. Carter became a shareholder and Vice-President. Also, during that period Mississippi Rubber & Specialty Company, Inc. (hereinafter “Mississippi Rubber”) acquired 6.25% of the shares of Coastal.

Mississippi Rubber is a Mississippi corporation which was incorporated on November 21, 1963, as an industrial rubber distributor and fabricator located in Jackson, Mississippi. President and sole shareholder of Mississippi Rubber during the period September 14, 1971 through September 14, 1975 was Horace Hebert.

Horace Hebert died in September of 1987.

Gulf is a Missouri corporation which, since 1941, has been authorized to transact business in Mississippi, and from 1970 until 1975 was a stock company which sold special multi-peril (SMP) policies in Mississippi, as well as workers’ compensation, automobile, and fire and casualty policies.

Mutual Insurance Agency, Inc. (hereinafter “Mutual”) is, and was during the [713]*713period 1970 through 1975, a Mississippi corporation located in Jackson, Mississippi.

From October 23, 1970 to November 1, 1975, Mutual was an agent for several insurance companies, one of which was Gulf, and was authorized by Gulf to sell insurance policies, including SMP policies, issued by Gulf in Mississippi. Mutual was assigned agency number 6238.

Richard Hartung was, at all times relevant, the President of Mutual and was authorized to sell insurance for and on behalf of Gulf in Mississippi.

On February 28, 1980, a fire occurred at the premises of Coastal completely destroying all of its records. Also, pursuant to Gulfs records retention policy, any of Gulf’s records which might tend to support or defeat Coastal’s allegations of coverage have been destroyed.

Mr. Hartung predeceased the trial on the merits; however, his deposition was made an exhibit to the record.

Discussion

The primary contention of Coastal is that it was an additional insured under SMP policies which Mississippi Rubber had with Gulf during the years 1971 through 1975.

More particularly, Coastal seeks to establish that it was so insured under Gulf’s SMP policy number 1718145, effective September 14, 1971 through September 14, 1975, and number 2215386, effective September 14, 1974 through September 14, 1975.

Due to the absence of any of the afore-stated policies, or any copies thereof, not only must Coastal establish that such policies existed, but, also it must establish the limits, terms, provisions, definitions, limitations, and exclusions of the alleged policies. This also must be done by clear and convincing evidence. See Williams v. Evans, 547 So.2d 54, 57 (Miss.1989), and Bradley v. Nall, 505 So.2d 1062, 1064 (Ala.1987).

The plaintiff’s ease for its contention that Coastal was an additional named insured on Mississippi Rubber’s SMP policy issued- by Gulf is to a very large extent dependent upon the testimonies of Richard Hartung, Pearl Storment, and James Carter. As these individuals were the only ones directly involved in the day-to-day business of Mutual and Coastal during the relevant period whose testimony was obtainable, the Court begins its analysis with a summary of their respective recollections.

C. Richard Hartung

Beginning in 1965 or 1967 when he approached Horace Hebert regarding the purchase of insurance, Hartung knew Hebert personally and professionally for over 25 years and as of the date of the deposition of Mississippi Rubber and Coastal were clients of Mutual.

Regarding the inception of coverage for Coastal, he recalled that in 1971 or 1972, Hebert advised him that he was opening up an operation on the Coast and upon being so notified, Hartung recalled that Mutual added coverage to the Mississippi Rubber policy.

As to the specific type of insurance which Mississippi Rubber had in place in 1971, and to which he added Coastal, Har-tung testified that it was an SMP policy with Gulf which continued in place until 1974 when it was replaced by a similar policy with Zurich Insurance Company.

Regarding the payment of premiums, it was Hartung’s recollection that Mississippi Rubber paid all premiums to Mutual which, in turn, remitted the same to Gulf.

Referring to Mutual’s records, as set out in Plaintiff Exhibit P-27, Hartung explained that Mississippi Rubber was initially covered for the period September 14, 1971 to September 14, 1974 under Gulf’s SMP policy number 1718145. He further noted that the initial annual premium of $290.00 was in December of 1971 increased by $367.00, retroactive due to the addition of Coastal as an added insured and an increase in contents to $60,000.00.

Testifying to the meaning of notes made by another individual who was not available as a witness, Hartung was adamant that the terms “additional premium liability coverage added” could only indicate liability coverage for an additional business location.

[714]*714One more increase in the premium for policy number 1718145 of $179.00 was noted as due to an increase in contents at an undisclosed location for the third year of the policy period.

Continuing with Exhibit P-27, Hartung testified that a new policy number 2215386 was entered into covering Mississippi Rubber and Gulf beginning on September 14, 1974, which, after an adjustment, had a yearly premium of $833.00.

Exhibit P-27, as explained by Hartung, indicates that Gulfs policy number 2215386 was terminated after one year in September of 1975, and replaced with SMP policy number 7122597 issued by Zurich Insurance Company for the policy period September 14, 1975 to September 14, 1978. The annual premium for this policy initially was $1,823.00 and upon a rate correction was reduced to $1,254.00.

Although Hartung was unequivocal that during the foregoing transactions Coastal was an insured, the only mention of Coastal in Exhibit P-27 is that dated September 1977 stating “credit transfer to Coastal Rubber to clear number four.” This entry, according to Hartung, appeared to indicate that Mutual maintained a separate account for Coastal before September 1977; however, he was unable to elaborate or to produce any separate accounts for Coastal.

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Related

Ford v. Lamar Life Ins. Co.
513 So. 2d 880 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1987)
Williams v. Evans
547 So. 2d 54 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1989)
Bradley v. Nall
505 So. 2d 1062 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1987)
Cosmopolitan Insurance v. Capitol Trailer & Body, Inc.
145 So. 2d 450 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1962)

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793 F. Supp. 712, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10144, 1992 WL 151868, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coastal-rubber-gasket-co-v-gulf-insurance-mssd-1992.