De Shazo v. Cantrelle

165 So. 2d 893, 1964 La. App. LEXIS 1814
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 1, 1964
DocketNo. 1454
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 165 So. 2d 893 (De Shazo v. Cantrelle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
De Shazo v. Cantrelle, 165 So. 2d 893, 1964 La. App. LEXIS 1814 (La. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinions

CHRIS T. BARNETTE, Judge pro tern.

This is a suit for personal injuries and damages arising out of an automobile collision. The principal question before the Court relates to interpretation of a Family 'Automobile Policy with endorsement issued to defendant Cantrelle by defendant Hardware Mutual Casualty Company, appellant. Plaintiffs and defendant Cantrelle contend that the public liability insurance policy issued by Hardware Mutual to Mr. Cantrelle, specifically describing a 1955 Dodge automobile, also extends coverage to a 1957 Chevrolet owned by Mr. Can-trelle under the broad coverage provisions of the Family Automobile Coverage Policy. The defendant-appellant Hardware Mutual contends that the endorsement excludes from the definition of “owned automobile” any automobile not specifically described [895]*895in the policy. The exclusion endorsement upon which the insurer relies is defective in certain aspects which gives rise to the charge of ambiguity. We must determine if the alleged ambiguities in the endorsement are serious enough to justify our disregard of the endorsement entirely, thus extending coverage to Cantrelle’s 1957 Chevrolet under the authority of Pel-State Oil Company v. Weimer, La.App., 155 So.2d 218; Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Co. v. Russell, 243 La. 189, 142 So.2d 391 and LeJeune v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., La.App., 107 So.2d 509.

Reginald De Shazo was an employee of A. Marx and Sons Company, Inc., and while in the course of employment driving a truck owned by his employer, was struck from the rear by a 1957 Chevrolet automobile owned by Willard Joseph Can-trelle and at the time operated by his minor son, Donald. The truck was damaged to the extent of $75.07 for recovery of which the plaintiff Marx joined in this suit. The plaintiff De Shazo sustained personal injuries for which recovery is sought. Mr. De Shazo died from natural causes not related to the alleged injuries before the case was brought to trial. His widow and a child have been substituted as parties plaintiff in his stead.

The Travelers Insurance Company petitioned as intervenor in subrogation for recovery of $900.43 as reimbursement for medical expenses paid and $87.50 for compensation benefits paid on account of its workmen’s liability responsibility to Mr. Cantrelle, the employee of its insttred, A. Marx & Sons Company, Inc.

Traders and General Insurance Company was named as defendant on account of a public liability insurance policy it had issued to Mr. Cantrelle covering the 1957 Chevrolet involved in this accident. This defendant was relieved of liability and dismissed on a summary judgment upon showing that the policy issued by it to Mr. Cantrelle covering the automobile in question contained an endorsement expressly excluding liability for damages caused by said car while operated by the insured’s-minor son, Donald. There is no appeal from this judgment.

A motion for summary judgment on. behalf of Hardware Mutual Casualty Company was denied. After trial on the merits,, judgment was rendered against defendant Cantrelle and his insurer, Hardware Mutual Casualty Company, in solido, in favor' of plaintiff Marx for $75.03 and in favor of the intervenor, Travelers Insurance Company, for $987.93 and Mrs. Mildred. Migaud, widow of Reginald De Shazo, individually, and as tutrix for Jacqueline De Shazo, minor, in the amount of $3,-600.00 for the injuries sustained by Mr. De Shazo and $250.00 for his loss of wages. From this judgment, the defendant Hardware Mutual Casualty Company has appealed. The defendant Cantrelle has answered the appeal praying that the-judgment be affirmed as it relates to the-liability of his insurer, Hardware Mutual Casualty Company.

No argument has been made in denial' of liability of Mr. Cantrelle on account of the negligent operation of his automobile by his minor son. There seems-to be no issue on this point and we find it unnecessary to discuss the details of the accident. The issue revolves around the interpretation of the liability insurance policy issued by Hardware Mutual Casualty Company, through its agent, to Mr. Cantrelle, and particularly the endorsement attached to and being a part of the policy.

Defendant Willard Joseph Cantrelle owned a 1957 Chevrolet automobile which he insured against public liability and property damage with Traders and General Insurance Company, April 3, 1960, for one year. On September 19, 1960, an “Exclusion of Named Driver” endorsement was attached relieving the insurer [896]*896of liability with respect to any accident while the “automobile is being operated by Daniel Cantrelle or Donald Cantrelle.” This exclusion was acknowledged by the insured, Mr. Cantrelle. It was his son, Donald, who was driving this Chevrolet automobile involved in the rear-end collision with the truck driven by plaintiff De Shazo, October 10, 1960.

Mr. Cantrelle also owned a 1955 Dodge automobile which he caused to be insured through the same agent with defendant Hardware Mutual Casualty Company in a Family Automobile Policy which specifically described in item 4 this Dodge automobile only. An endorsement, identified with the policy by the number TA 771, is attached, purporting to be an “Amendment of Definition of ‘Owned Automobile.’ ” This is the subject of our concern here.

Plaintiffs and defendant Cantrelle take the position that this endorsement is ambiguous in that it refers by title or number to specific things in the body of the policy not contained therein. It is therefore argued that it should be disregarded entirely or be construed against the insurer under the well-established principle of law that ambiguities be resolved against the insurer who wrote the provisions. Spears v. Phoenix Insurance Company, La.App., 149 So.2d 118; Binnings Equipment Co. v. Travelers Indemnity Co., La.App., 139 So.2d 551.

The plaintiffs and defendant Cantrelle rely strongly on Pel-State Oil Company v. Weimer, La.App., 155 So.2d 218; Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Co. v. Russell, 243 La. 189, 142 So.2d 391 and LeJeune v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., La.App., 107 So.2d 509. These cases involve the question of broad coverage of automobiles owned by the insured, under the provisions of the Family Automobile Policy even though the automobile involved in the accident was not the one specifically described in the policy. This coverage was upheld in the Indiana Lum-bermens case and Pel-State Oil Company v. Weimer, supra, notwithstanding the intention of the parties that the automobile involved in the accident not be covered.

It was held in these cases that the coverage under the definition of “owned automobile” included all automobiles owned by the insured unless expressly excluded by an appropriate endorsement. There was no such endorsement in either of the above-mentioned cases. In the case before us, there is an endorsement attached to and made a part of the policy at the time of its issuance apparently intended to meet the requirement of the cited cases. A close examination of that endorsement is now required.

The policy in question is a “Family Automobile Policy.” This form of policy has been substituted by all companies for the standard form automobile policy as required by directive of the Casualty and Surety Division of the Louisiana Insurance Rating Commission. It extends broader coverage than that provided by the standard form policy in effect before the effective date of the directive. The directive referred to was discussed at some length by the Supreme Court of Louisiana in Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Co. v. Russell, supra. The Court there said:

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Bluebook (online)
165 So. 2d 893, 1964 La. App. LEXIS 1814, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-shazo-v-cantrelle-lactapp-1964.