Crook v. Malone

571 S.W.2d 544
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 31, 1978
DocketNo. 5148
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 571 S.W.2d 544 (Crook v. Malone) 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
Crook v. Malone, 571 S.W.2d 544 (Tex. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

BRADBURY, Justice.

Appellant, Herbert Crook, receiver of Liberty Universal Insurance Company, sued appellee, Bobby Malone d/b/a Bobby Malone Insurance Agency, seeking to recover [546]*546premiums on insurance policies that Malone had allegedly written as agent for the company. Malone pleaded fraud as an affirmative defense. Based on jury findings1 favorable to Malone, judgment was entered denying Crook any recovery. He appeals and we affirm.

For several years prior to 1970, Malone had written a limited amount of business for Liberty and on May 1, 1970, entered into a new agency contract. Malone argues that this contract was induced by fraudulent representations made to him by a representative of Liberty. Although representing Liberty, he also represented some eighteen or twenty other companies. Premiums involved here were for policies written in July and part of August, 1970. The parties by stipulation agreed the amount in controversy was $7,515.52.

The 53rd District Court of Travis County on August 17, 1970, placed Liberty in temporary receivership and entered temporary restraining orders. These orders were made into a temporary injunction and the temporary receivership continued in effect by order effective 12:01 p. m., August 27, 1970. The receivership was made permanent by order of October 20, 1970. All policies were canceled by order of the 53rd Judicial District Court of Travis County August 27, 1970.

Article 21.28, Texas Insurance Code, provides for the liquidation, rehabilitation, reorganization or conservation of insurers. Section 2 provides in part:

“(a) Receiver Taking Charge. Whenever under the law of this State a court of competent jurisdiction finds that a receiver should take charge of the assets of an insurer domiciled in this State, the liquidator designated by the Board of Insurance Commissioners as hereinafter provided for shall be such receiver. The liquidator so appointed receiver shall forthwith take possession of the assets of such insurer and deal with the same in his own name as receiver or in the name of the insurer as the court may direct.
(b) Title in Receiver. The property and assets of such insurer shall be in the custody of the court as of the date of the commencement of such delinquency proceedings. The said receiver and his successors in office shall be vested by operation of law with the title to all of the property, contracts, and rights of action of such insurer, wherever located, as of the date of entry of the order directing possession to be taken. Such title of the receiver shall relate back to the date of the commencement of the delinquency [547]*547proceedings unless the court shall otherwise provide. The filing or recording of such an order in any record office of the State shall impart the same notice as would be imparted by a deed, bill of sale, or other evidence of title duly filed or recorded by such insurer.
(c) Rights Fixed. The rights and liabilities of any such insurer and of its creditors, policyholders, members, officers, directors, stockholders, agents, and all other persons interested in its estate, shall, unless otherwise directed by the court, be fixed as of the date of the commencement of the delinquence proceedings, subject, however, to the provisions of Section 3 with respect to the rights of claimants holding contingent claims, and as otherwise expressly provided in this Article.”

This section of the statute was effective at 12:01 p. m., August 27, 1970, in the instant case.

Malone testified that he suspected that Liberty was not in good financial condition and commencing about August 1, 1970, he replaced the policies he had written for Liberty with policies in other companies and that such replacement had been completed by August 27, 1970. He testified that oh the policies written prior to July, 1970, that had not expired by August 27, 1970, out of his own pocket he paid the premiums for the replaced policies so that his customers would suffer no loss. Malone testified that as of August 27, 1970, all premiums collected for policies written to Liberty had been remitted to the company and'on unearned commissions he had credited these to the premiums charged to his customers as the policies were canceled with Liberty and rewritten with other companies. Malone argues that under the terms of the agency agreement with Liberty he had forty-five days after the end of the month in which the policy was written in which to remit the premiums and by agreement with Liberty he had sixty days from the date the policy was written to remit the premiums. During that time, he contends that he had the right to cancel any policies that he desired and place them in other companies.

Malone argues there were no assets in his hands to which the receiver was entitled. He considered himself a “middleman” or broker by virtue of the contract he had with Liberty. When he canceled the policies in question and rewrote them in other companies and collected the premiums, he was acting for his customers and not for Liberty.

Crook argues that Malone is liable for all premiums on policies that he had written for Liberty whether or not he had collected the premiums and was also liable for unearned commissions.

Crook contends that by'the provisions of Article 21.02,2 Texas Insurance Code, the relationship of principal and agent was established between Liberty and Malone, and a relationship of principal and agent is fiduciary in nature. Locke v. Thigpen, 353 S.W.2d 249 (Tex.Civ.App. — Houston 1961), rev’d, 363 S.W.2d 247 (Tex.1962). Crook argues that the Texas Insurance Code provides that the receiver is to take charge of all assets of the company and that uncollected premiums and unearned commissions were assets for which Malone was accountable. Crook insists that by the provisions of Article 21.28(3)(g)(4)3 Malone is not permitted an offset against his fiduciary obligation and that if he had a claim he should have filed it as provided for by Article 21.28, Sec. 3(a),4 Texas Insurance Code. [548]*548Crook contends such procedure was Malone’s remedy and not a plea of fraud. Crook says that Malone waived rescission and cannot now claim offset as it is barred. Crook argues Malone is relegated to the position of a claimant and that he has waited too long to file his claim under Texas Insurance Code. Crook contends that to permit Malone to prevail by his defense of fraud would mean that he would gain a preference over the other creditors resulting in payment to him of 100% of his claim to the detriment of other creditors of the insolvent insurance company.

We do not deem it necessary to pass on these questions as in our opinion, the final result of this cause turns on Malone’s plea of fraud in the inducement of the contract.

This cause was tried in the lower court as a suit on contract. The defense was fraud in the inducement of that contract. The jury’s findings support that defense. On appeal, Crook cannot now take a position inconsistent with that taken at the trial. In Boatner v. Providence-Washington Ins. Co., 241 S.W. 136 (Tex.Com.App.1922), the court stated:

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571 S.W.2d 544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crook-v-malone-texapp-1978.