COMMERCE NAT. BK., LAKE WORTH v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am.

252 So. 2d 248, 1971 Fla. App. LEXIS 5967
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJuly 22, 1971
Docket70-360
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 252 So. 2d 248 (COMMERCE NAT. BK., LAKE WORTH v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
COMMERCE NAT. BK., LAKE WORTH v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., 252 So. 2d 248, 1971 Fla. App. LEXIS 5967 (Fla. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

252 So.2d 248 (1971)

COMMERCE NATIONAL BANK IN LAKE WORTH, Appellant,
v.
SAFECO INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, a Washington Corporation, Appellee.

No. 70-360.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

July 22, 1971.
Rehearing Denied September 28, 1971.

John F. Law, Jr., of Ryan, Taylor, Booker & Law, North Palm Beach, for appellant.

John R. Beranek, of Jones, Paine & Foster, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Affirmed.

CROSS and OWEN, JJ., concur.

MAGER, J., dissents, with opinion.

MAGER, Judge (dissenting):

With all due regard to my esteemed colleagues I must respectfully dissent. It is my humble opinion that the majority has overlooked certain basic principles applicable to the construction of contracts of insurance the most significant of which is that such contracts must be construed liberally in favor of the insured and strictly against the insurer. The facts giving rise to the instant appeal and the underlying reasons for my dissent are hereinafter set forth.

A summary judgment was entered against Commerce National Bank in Lake Worth, plaintiff-appellant, in favor of Safeco Insurance Company, defendant-appellee in a suit seeking the recovery of costs incurred by plaintiff in its defense of a suit which plaintiff alleges defendant was required to defend.

The plaintiff (insured) contracted with defendant (insurer) for a special multiperil insurance policy which contained a personal injury liability coverage endorsement as hereinafter set forth:

"PERSONAL INJURY LIABILITY COVERAGE ENDORSEMENT "INSURING AGREEMENTS
I. PERSONAL INJURY LIABILITY COVERAGE
To pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of injury sustained by any person or organization and arising out of the following hazards in the conduct of the named insured's business in connection with the premises designated in the declarations of the policy and this company shall defend any suit against the insured alleging such injury and seeking damages which are payable under the terms of this endorsement, even if any of the allegations of the suit are groundless, false or fraudulent; but the company may make such investigation and settlement of any claim or suit as it deems expedient.
SCHEDULE
The insurance afforded is only with respect to such of the following hazards as are indicated by specific premium charge or charges.
HAZARDS
A. False arrest, detention or imprisonment, or malicious prosecution
B. Libel, slander or defamation of character
C. Invasion of privacy, wrongful eviction or wrongful entry" (Emphasis supplied.)

The insured was sued by a third party. The third party complaint contained some *249 20 counts and there is apparently no dispute that such complaint was within the insurance policy coverage; in fact, the insurer undertook to defend the insured against the third party.[1] As a result of such defense by the insurer the third party complaint was dismissed. Subsequently the third party complaint was amended; the insurer denied coverage and withdrew. The instant appeal is concerned with the allegations contained in the third party amended complaint, the insured alleging that the allegations therein were within the insurance policy coverage. The third party complaint, instituted by an automobile dealer against the insured, sought damages resulting from the insured's repossession of a number of automobiles which the third party alleged it owned and that insured had "illegally seized" from the premises of the third party complainant. The third party complainant apparently borrowed substantial sums of money from the insured, such loan apparently being secured by the various automobiles. The third party amended complaint which was based upon the same set of facts out of which the original complaint arose contained only three basic allegations as distinguished from the 20 allegations set forth in the original complaint. See footnote 1, supra. Count 1 of the third party amended complaint alleged, inter alia, that the insured "converted to its own use more than 60 automobiles belonging to the plaintiffs and located on the premises owned by the plaintiffs"; Count 2, inter alia, alleged that the insured "descended upon the place of business of these plaintiffs * * * and illegally, unlawfully, wilfully, deliberately and with malicious intent to destroy the plaintiffs' business and community reputation, seized, took and converted from these plaintiffs' place of business a number of automobiles owned by the plaintiff * * *"; Count 3, inter alia, alleged that the insured "by its agents, employees and officers wrongfully broke and entered upon the premises owned and in possession of the plaintiffs, and took and carried away in excess of 60 automobiles, the property of the plaintiffs * * * and converted and disposed of said goods to its own use * * *". (Emphasis supplied.)

There is considerable discussion regarding the insured's failure in the action below to attach a copy of the third party's amended complaint to its pleading, the insurer alleging in substance that it was entitled to a summary judgment because of this omission. The insurer's position is, basically, that inasmuch as it undertook to defend the original third party complaint that as a matter of law it was entitled to a summary judgment because the insured's pleadings and cause of action below were not predicated upon the third party's amended complaint; and, furthermore, that the third party's amended complaint on its face was outside the insurance policy coverage.

Rule 1.510, F.R.C.P., 31 F.S.A., provides for the granting of a summary judgment "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law". In support of its motion for summary judgment the insurer filed, among other *250 things, requests for admissions, appending thereto the third party amended complaint. It is clear therefore that, although the third party amended complaint was not attached to the insured's pleadings below, it was before the court for its consideration; more pertinent, however, it was on the basis of the third party amended complaint that the insurer asserted that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law since such third party amended complaint was alleged to be outside the insurance policy coverage.

It appears somewhat inconsistent for the insurer in support of the judgment below, on the one hand to assert as a defense the third party amended complaint, and, on the other hand, to assert the failure of the insured to sue the insurer for "failure to defend under the amended complaint". The suit below is not predicated, per se, upon the insurer's "failure to defend under the amended complaint" but rather that the insurer while the insurance policy was in force "continued to defend the lawsuit * * * and subsequently, at a later date, * * * wrongfully withdrew from the defense of this lawsuit" necessitating the insured to retain counsel to defend the suit.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
252 So. 2d 248, 1971 Fla. App. LEXIS 5967, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commerce-nat-bk-lake-worth-v-safeco-ins-co-of-am-fladistctapp-1971.