Commercial Assurance Co. v. New Jersey Rubber Co.

49 A. 155, 61 N.J. Eq. 446, 1901 N.J. Ch. LEXIS 121
CourtNew Jersey Court of Chancery
DecidedMay 18, 1901
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 49 A. 155 (Commercial Assurance Co. v. New Jersey Rubber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Court of Chancery primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commercial Assurance Co. v. New Jersey Rubber Co., 49 A. 155, 61 N.J. Eq. 446, 1901 N.J. Ch. LEXIS 121 (N.J. Ct. App. 1901).

Opinion

Embey, Y. 0.

. The original bill was filed to reform an insurance policy issued by complainant to defendant, and to enjoin an action at law brought to recover a loss under the policy. The policy was issued for $25,000, and the amount covered by the policy was divided among several buildings of defendant and their contents, one of the buildings being a frame storehouse, which, with its content's, was insured for $5,000. This storehouse was destroyed by fire on October 21st, 1897, during the term of the policy, which ran from August 1st, 1897, to August 1st, 1898, and a total loss on this building resulted. The policy, as written, contained a clause that “other concurrent insurance was permitted without notice until requested,” and contained no other clause as to concurrent insurance. Complainant’s bill alleged that the real agreement between the parties as to the insurance was that certain other insurance, to the additional amount of $84,500, should be taken out by the defendant upon all the property to be insured by complainant, and that complainant’s insurance was to be exactly concurrent and proportionate with the other insurance to be effected, but that the insertion in the policy of this part of the agreement was omitted, on complainant’s part, by its mistake in supposing and believing that the defendant was, in fact, taking out other policies of insurance concurrently with the complainant’s policy, in such form as to be, in effect and in operation of law, concurrent and propor[448]*448tionate on all the property insured by complainant. As to defendant’s intention in reference to the form of the policy, it is alleged that it either had the same mistaken belief, or else that it fraudulently concealed the fact that concurrent and proportionate policies on all the property insured were not so taken out. These policies in other companies, although taken out by the defendant,' were not, in fact, concurrent or proportionate on all the property covered by complainant’s policy, but, on the contrary, did not cover at all the frame storehouse and its contents, which were specially hazardous risks. After the loss, the complainant, as its bill further alleged, offered to pay its proportionate share of the $5,000, as if based on a concurrent and proportionate insurance with the other policies, but defendant refused to accept this amount, and brought suit to recover the entire amount of the loss on the storehouse and its contents. Complainant’s bill offered to pay such proportionate amount and sought to enjoin the suit on the policy and from recovering in said suit more than the proportionate share, to reform the policy to conform to the agreement under which it was issued and for general relief. Defendant’s answer to the bill denied the alleged agreement for concurrent and proportionate insurance, or the making of any other agreement for insurance than the one appearing by the policy itself. Upon an application for preliminary injunction, heard upon bill, answer and affidavits, it was ordered that the application stand over until after the trial of the action at law. This order was made for the reason that the complainant, on the hearing, was not prepared to admit legal liability on the policy, and (as appears in the order) that the complainant claimed to have legal defences to the action at law, outside of the facts presented as the basis for equitable relief, and also, upon the ground that the facts presented as a basis for equitable relief might also be held sufficient defences at law. The action at law then proceeded, and the complainant (as the defendant therein) set up as defences (1) concealment of material facts, (2) misrepresentation of material facts, (3) that at the time of the delivery of the policy the rubber company falsely represented to the insurance company that concurrent and proportionate policies were being taken out, and (4) that [449]*449the delivery of the policy to the rubber company was upon the condition that it was not to take effect unless and until the rubber company procured other concurrent and proportionate insurance to the amount of $81,500 in certain companies named. In the action at-law, after hearing and considering the evidence offered by the defendant in the action to sustain these defences, it was finally determined, as appears by the opinion of the court of errors and appeals, set out in the supplemental bill, that these defences were sustained, and that the policy of insurance was void at the time of its issue—first, upon the ground that the insured represented to the insurance company that it was procuring other insurance to the amount of $84,500, concurrent and proportionate with the insurance company’s insurance, which representation was material and was relied on, and was false in fact, and second, upon the further ground that the policy was delivered and accepted upon the understanding and condition that it was not to take effect or become binding upon the insurance company unless and until the rubber company purchased other insurance -upon the same property eoncurent and proportionate to that effected by the policy to the amount of $84,500, and that the rubber company failed and neglected to perform this condition. This decision at law upon the facts settles, as between the parties, conclusively and for all purposes, including this suit, the agreement, conditions and terms upon which the policy was issued and deliverecl in its present form. And thus settled by the trial at law, this agreement was that the policy was issued in its present form upon the representation and condition that other concurrent and proportionate insurance was being taken out, and that the policy was not to take effect unless and until such insurance was taken out. This finding, that the policy was intended by the parties to be issued and delivered as a binding policy in its present form, when the condition was complied with, necessarily precludes, as it seems to me, either party from alleging or proving thereafter, in this or any other suit, that there was any mistake upon the part of either party in relation to the form of the policy, or that the real agreement was that the agreement as to concurrent and proportionate insurance should be written into the policy. Complainant’s original [450]*450bill alleges the delivery of the policy im'der its mistake, not as to the form of the policy, or its belief that this clause as to concurrent and proportionate insurance had been inserted, but expressly alleges that, on its part, this clause was omitted by a mistake of the complainant in supposing and believing that the said mutual companies’ policies were being issued in such form as to be, in effect, concurrent and proportionate with the said contract of insurance being made between complainant and defendant. The relief, under the orignal bill, could not, therefore, have been a reformation of the policy for the purpose of inserting the concurrent clause, and as to relief against the contract, based merely on the mistake which was set out in the bill, as the basis of jurisdiction, the decision of the courts of law shows that interposition of a court of equity was neither necessary nor justifiable for relief against the original contract, but that relief against the contract, to an extent as great or greater than a court of equity would have granted, was obtainable in a court of law, which does not impose conditions of relief. So far as relates to relief upon the original bill, which was based on mistake, the case has been conclusively disposed of by the judgment of the court of law, finding the mistake to have existed and declaring the contract of insurance, by reason of the mistake, in connection with other facts, void at the time of its issue.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
49 A. 155, 61 N.J. Eq. 446, 1901 N.J. Ch. LEXIS 121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commercial-assurance-co-v-new-jersey-rubber-co-njch-1901.