Connecticut General Life Ins. Co. v. Dugas

91 S.W.2d 757
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 7, 1936
DocketNo. 2870.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 91 S.W.2d 757 (Connecticut General Life Ins. Co. v. Dugas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Connecticut General Life Ins. Co. v. Dugas, 91 S.W.2d 757 (Tex. Ct. App. 1936).

Opinion

*758 WALKER, Chief Justice.

On the 13th of September, 1934, appel-lee, Alcee Dugas, instituted this suit against appellant, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, alleging that “on or about October 5, 1930, . the plaintiff, while under the age of sixty, became totally and permanently disabled within the terms and meaning” of the following certificate of insurance:

“The Connecticut General Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, certifies that it has insured the lives of certain employees of the Gulf Oil Corporation of Pennsylvania and its Subsidiary Companies by a policy of insurance issued and delivered to the said Corporation.
“Under and subject to the terms and conditions of the above mentioned policy the life of Alcee Dugas is insured under the terms of a policy dated April 1, 1925, in the sum of $1000, payable in the event of death to the beneficiary named herein, or in the event of total and permanent disability occurring before age sixty, to the insured himself. The policy expressly provides that this insurance shall cease whenever the above employee leaves or cancels his payroll deduction order.
“Connecticut General Life Insurance Co.
“T. B. Wilde, Secretary ■
“G1616, 9-28, 15M. No. 11537. Date Effective Oct 9 1927.”

The issues made by his petition were submitted to the jury and found in his favor. On the verdict judgment was entered in favor of appellee against appellant for $1,000, with interest at 6 per cent, per annum from date of judgment.

Appellant’s first assignment of error is as follows:

“The court erred to the prejudice of this defendant in overruling and in refusing to grant this defendant’s request No. 1, reading as follows:
“‘This defendant objects to the court’s charge because the court does not charge the jury that their verdict will be in favor of the defendant, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, and against the plaintiff, Alcee Dugas.’ ”

Its first proposition is as follows: “The defendant having plead under oath that the-group policy here sued upon contained a provision to the effect that no action should be instituted upon any claim under such policy unless the employee gave notice to the defendant of such claim within two years after his employment terminated and that plaintiff had failed to give such notice and the undisputed evidence being that no notice was given the defendant of plaintiff’s claim within two years after plaintiff’s employment terminated and there being no pleading or proof of a waiver of such provision or of excuse for failure to comply with the same, it was error for the trial court to refuse to grant defendant’s motion for an instructed verdict.” .

This assignment of error, with its proposition, is supported by the following statement : As shown by its own recitations, ap-pellee’s certificate of insurance was issued and delivered to him “under and subject to the terms and conditions” of a policy of group insurance issued by appellant to Gulf Oil Corporation of Pennsylvania and its subsidiary companies, dated the 1st day of April, 1925. In its answer appellant pleaded, and the proof sustained the plea as a matter of law, that this policy of insurance contained the following conditions: “No claim for permanent- total disability incurred by any employee during his period of employment shall be paid after the termination of such employment unless such employee gave notice of such disability to the employer during the said period of employment or within sixty days thereafter. No action shall be instituted against the Company, by any employee under any claim under this policy unless the said employee shall have gjven notice to the Company of such claim within two years after the termination of his employment.”

Under all the proof the “notice” pleaded by appellant was not given to it until August, 1934, long after the expiration of the two years. There is no proof or contention by appellee that this provision was waived.

On the facts, appellant was entitled to an instructed verdict. Under Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Scarborough (Tex.Com.App.) 68 S.W.(2d) 1027, 1029, 94 A.L.R. 1053, it is not an open question that the stipulation in this policy requiring that notice of claim be given to appellant by appellee within two years after the termination of his employment is valid and binding as a matter of law; and that the two years was “a reasonable time,” as a matter of law; and that it was not necessary for appellee to plead that the “two years” was a reasonable time or to offer proof on that issue or to have the *759 issue submitted to the jury. On this very point Judge Critz, writing the opinion for the Commission of Appeals, said in the Scarborough Case:

“It is the general rule that a stipulation in the contract that the telegraph company shall not be liable for damages unless a claim therefor is presented within a specified time is valid and binding. 62 C.J. p. 185, par. 212. This rule obtains in all interstate messages. Id. It is also settled that the above rule obtains in this state if the stipulation is reasonable. Article 5546, supra; Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Rains, 63 Tex. 27; Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Culberson, 79 Tex. 65, 15 S.W. 219; Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Guitar (Tex.Com.App. opinion adopted) [116 Tex. 497] 295 S.W. 598, 600; Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Janko (Tex.Civ.App.) 212 S.W. 243; Lester v. Western Union Telegraph Co., 84 Tex. 313, 19 S.W. 256; Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Vann (Tex.Civ.App.) 288 S.W. 541. There are many other Texas authorities supporting the above rule, but the ones cited are sufficient.
“The Court of Civil Appeals holds in the instant case that since no issue of the reasonableness of the above stipulation was submitted to the jury, and no such issue requested by the company, it waived the defense. This holding is error. The contract stipulates 95 days, and such time is more than the minimum time provided by the statute. Under such a record, we think the company discharged its burden when it pleaded the contract and proved noncompliance therewith. In this connection we call attention to the fact that pri- or to the enactment of article 5546, supra, this court held that 60 days was a reasonable time to stipulate. Lester v. Western Union Telegraph Co., sitpra; Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Rains, supra. Also in Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Culberson, supra, 30 days was held to be reasonable.”

Appellee makes the following points against appellant’s assignment and proposition:

First. The proposition does not assert that proof was made that “the group policy contained the pleaded provision.” This is a correct construction of the proposition, but by the amendments to article 1757, R.C.S. (Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art. 1757), it is now the law, quoting Henderson v. Page (Tex.Civ.App.) 78 S.W.(2d). 293, that “propositions are not an essential part of briefs; therefore, the sufficiency of the propositions here cannot be questioned.”

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91 S.W.2d 757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/connecticut-general-life-ins-co-v-dugas-texapp-1936.