Continental Casualty Company v. Bock

340 S.W.2d 527, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 1771
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 10, 1960
Docket13609
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 340 S.W.2d 527 (Continental Casualty Company v. Bock) 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
Continental Casualty Company v. Bock, 340 S.W.2d 527, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 1771 (Tex. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

WERLEIN, Justice.

This suit was brought by appellee, Eleanor P. Bock, against appellant, Continental Casualty Company, to recover death benefits provided in a Vacation, Business Travel (V.B.T.) accident policy, and for reformation of such policy, issued by appellant to appellee’s husband, Henry C. Bock, who thereafter was killed in a military aircraft crash. Part VI, entitled “Exclusions”, of the V.B.T. policy excluded from coverage any “loss, fatal or non-fatal, caused by or resulting from * * * (2) injury sustained while or in consequence of riding in or on any vehicle or device for aerial navigation except as a passenger, in (a) any aircraft being used for transportation purposes only, having a ‘standard’ air-worthiness certificate issued by the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the United States of America * * or (b) a transport type aircraft operated by the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) of the United States * *

The plane in question was a Lockheed TV-2 jet aircraft belonging to and under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Navy. It had no air-worthiness, certificate and was not a transport type of aircraft operated by MATS. The pilot of the plane was a naval reserve officer who was making the flight as an accommodation to Col. Bock and to maintain his flying status and rating. The flight was authorized by the U. S. Navy for training and experience to be acquired by the pilot. Appellee sought recovery on alleged grounds of mistake, fraud and estoppel, alleging that appellant’s agents made an affirmative representation that the policy would contain no exclusions of military aircraft, and appellant was estop-ped to assert such exclusions. Appellant brought Alex H. Bullock and David E. Rose into the suit as third party defendants, seeking indemnity from them in the event appellee should recover. At the conclusion of the evidence, the third party defendants moved for directed verdicts, which were granted. The trial court entered judg *530 ment upon the jury verdict in favor of appellee against appellant.

Appellant complains that there is no evidence and insufficient evidence to support the jury’s findings to Special Issues Nos. 21, 19 and 19-A to the effect (1) Bullock, Bock’s insurance broker and agent, was not negligent in failing to read the policy delivered to him covering the insured, Bock, and (2) that the exclusions contained in the policy were written therein as a result of a mutual mistake by and between (a) Bullock and Rose, appellant’s general agent, and (b) Bullock and Alice Salinas, Rose’s secretary, and therefore the court erred in overruling appellant’s motion for judgment non obstante veredic-to. It thus becomes necessary to review and analyze the testimony and the evidence pertaining to such issues. Bullock talked twice to Rose by telephone and once to Mrs. Salinas by telephone and once to her in 'person when he picked up the policy for delivery to Bock. Rose did not remember any talks at all with Bullock. Hence, we are relegated largely to the testimony of ■Bullock and Mrs. Salinas.

Bullock, an experienced recording or local insurance agent 'with over twenty years’ insurance'Experience, testified in .substance that in May, 1956 Bock, a retired Marine Corps Colonel, contacted him for the purpose of securing passenger insurance coverage on a contemplated flight in a military plane from Houston to Quantico by wáy of Washington; that since he did not write that kind of insurance, he telephoned Rose, appellant’s general agent in Hiouston, who gáve’him a “quotation” on rates; that thereafter on or about Thursday, November 8, 1956 (the May flight having been cancelled) Colonel Bock called him again, advising him he was contemplating a flight on November 14 in a Marine Corps Beechcraft to Dallas and from Dallas to Willow Run, Michigan, in a military jet and asking him if he could still give him some coverage, and if so he would get verification of the flight over the weekend and let him know Monday; that he, Bullock, thereupon contacted Rose who assured him that it was still possible to get the coverage; that he informed Rose the flight was being made in a military plane and that he was positive he told him it was a jet plane because he had it in his notes. Bullock also testified to the effect that the additional information he gave Rose in November as to the time the plane would depart and the day of return and the names of the parties was on the “larger note sheet” which he used to refresh his memory, and that the “smaller” note or memorandum on which the word “jet” was used was not written until the morning of November 12, 1956, at which time he first learned from Bock that the plane from Dallas was to be a jet. This was several days subsequent to his last conversation with Rose.

Bullock further testified that after Bock called him Monday morning, November 12, telling him he had confirmation that the flight would be made, he called Rose’s office, and since Rose was not there, he talked to the girl in the office (Mrs. Salinas) telling her the flight he had discussed with Mr. Rose was going to take place and for them to issue the policy and he would pick it up; that he picked up ‘the policy at Rose’s office about 4:30 that afternoon, and at the same time left a check to cover the net amount owing on the premium after deducting his own commission. The coverage in the policy was to begin November 14. After picking up the policy, Bullock took it to his office and mailed it to Bock that evening without reading it.

Bullock testified that he relied upon the superior knowledge of Rose, and that he told Rose the policy was to cover a military aircraft and was assured by Rose that he could provide it. He said he needed to give Rose only the pertinent information required to write the policy and that he did not go into detail in discussing any exclusions in the policy and that Rose made no reference whatever to any exclusions.

*531 When Bullock told Mrs. Salmas that Col. Bock was going ahead with his flight and to prepare the policy, Mrs. Salinas started to ask for some information about the trip and he told her Mr. Rose had all of the information. Bullock was not sure whether he told Mrs. Salinas it was a jet plane. Mrs. Salinas testified that the word “jet” was never used and had she known it was a jet plane she would not have issued the policy. He testified that other than the fact that it was a military plane and not a private craft or a commercial airline, there was nothing else to discuss unless Mrs. Salinas or Mr. Rose asked the information, because he did not underwrite the policy. He presumed that Rose had discussed the policy with Mrs. Salinas. He also testified that when Mrs. Salinas tried to tell him something, he told her he wanted the policy that he had talked to Mr. Rose about. He did not know that Bock was going in a jet trainer plane and didn’t think that Bock knew what kind of plane it was other than it was a military jet plane and he was going as a passenger.

With respect to the conversation between Bullock and Mrs. Salinas, she testified that Bullock didn’t go into any details but told her that it was some type of service plane, although he didn’t use that word, but that was the impression she got; that she knew it wasn’t a commercial plane; and that when she questioned Bullock to find out a little more, he told her that he had already discussed it with Mr. Rose, so that was the end of her questioning.

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Bluebook (online)
340 S.W.2d 527, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 1771, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/continental-casualty-company-v-bock-texapp-1960.