Dickason-Goodman Lbr. Co. v. Home Ins. Co.

1925 OK 392, 113 Okla. 4, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 849
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 19, 1925
Docket14859
StatusPublished

This text of 1925 OK 392 (Dickason-Goodman Lbr. Co. v. Home Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dickason-Goodman Lbr. Co. v. Home Ins. Co., 1925 OK 392, 113 Okla. 4, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 849 (Okla. 1925).

Opinion

BRANSON, V. C. J.

The Dickason-Goodman Lumber Company, as plaintiff, sued the Home Insurance Company, as defendant, in the district court of O.-'age county. A demurrer was sustained to its petition. It filed an amended petition, to which the defendant filed an answer, pleading, among other defenses, the one-year special statute of limitation. It appeared from the face of the plaintiff’s amended petition that the fire which destroyed the property insured occurred in June, 1921, and that the instant suit was not brought until August, 1922. Defendant filed motion for judgment on the pleadings, which 'the trial court sustained, and entered judgment dismissing plaintiff’s petition, to reverse which it appeals.

By reason of our conclusions thereon, we deem it unnecessary to discuss the assign^ ments and contentions, other .than the one made by the plaintiff to the effect that the judgment of the trial court is contrary to law. The defendant pleaded, among oother things:

“For further answer to the amended petition of the plaintiff, this defendant alleges that under the terms and conditions of the policy sued on herein, it is provided:
“ ‘No suit or action on this policy for the recovery of any claim shall be sustainable in any court of law or equity, until after full compliance of the insured withi the foregoing requirements, nor unless commenced within 12 months after the fire.’ And this defendant specifically alleges that the fire referred to in plaintiff’s petition occurred on the 19th day of June, 1921, and this action was not commenced until the 11th day of August 1922. * * *”

The plaintiff did not own the property destroyed by fire. The olwlner of the property owed the plaintiff approximately $2,-500, which was secured by mortgage on said property. The owner had insured with the defendant company the building, and the policy issued was what is known as the 'standard form, provided for by section 6767, C. O. S. 1921. To this policy was attached what is known as the uniform or union mortgage clause (sometime referred to as the National Board Standard Mortgage Clause). This clause, among other things, provided:

“Loss if any, payable to Dickason-Goodman Lumber Co., as their interests may appear as mortgagee (or trustee) as such interests may appear * * * and shall be subject to the provisions of this policy, as to the time of appraisal and the time of payment and bringing suit.”

There are various other provisions in this loss payable clause, but they play no part in a proper determination of this appeal, and are therefore not set out herein.

Neither the form of policy issued to Hie *5 insured nor the loss payable clause attached thereto is novel to this jurisdiction. In fact, an examination of the reported eases indicates that nearly all of the American states have adopted the identical forms. About the center of the policy it is provided:

• 'Tf with the consent of this company, an interest under this policy shall exist in fav- or of a mortgagee, or of any person or corporation having an interest in the subject of insurance, other than the interest of the insured as described herein, the conditions hereinbefore contained shall apply in the manner expressed in such provisions, and conditions of insurance relating to such interest as shall be written upon, attached or appended hereto.”

This form of policy is susceptible of at least three distinct divisions. The provisions of the policy referred to in said quoted clause as “hereinbefore contained” might be designated properly as the conditions under which the policy is issued, or acts done or required of the insured (the owner), or contingencies of liability to any one under the policy.

The clause quoted is a contractual consent of the insurance company, fixing the vonditions under which it may become liable to a mortgagee or any person having an interest in the property insured. That part of the policy subsequent to the said quoted clause imposed certain obligiations upon the insured in event of fire. All of such provisions are contractual in their nature, and enforceable solely as such, although ■ the terms, conditions, and provisions thereof are prescribed by legislative enactment. When the parties have executed the policy, their rights are governed by contract to the same extent, and no further, as if they had voluntarily adopted the terms of the policy. Niagara Fire Ins. Co. of N. Y. v. Nichols, 96 Okla. 96, 220 Pac. 920, and cases there cited.

The loss payable clause which the contract with the insured expressly provides may be executed, the policy expressly provides shall be subject to the provisions •1nereinbef«'° contained.”

The third outstanding provision of this policy is that which provides:

“No suit or action on this policy for the recovery of any claim shall be sustainable in any court of law or equity until after full compliance' by the insured with all. the foregoing requirements, nor unless commenced within twelve months next after the fire.”

The question herein is whether or not this last provision, incorporated by reference in the loss payable clause of the mortgage, is controlling. The owner of the property insured had an insurable interest therein, and bought and paid for a policy. The mortgagee had no insurable interest in said property as such, but could contract with the defendant company, with the acquiescence of the insured, that in event of loss the mortgagee should have an interest in the amount payable under the policy, as provided by such contract. The general method of doing this is by a rider attached to such policy, which is known as a loss payable clause. We think it is well settled that the insurer’s contract with the insured, and the mortgagee’s contract with the insurer, are entirely separate and distinct, although the terms and conditions of the mortgagee’s contract may not b.e definite and certain without reference to the terms and provisions of the policy, Joyce, in his work on Insurance, sec. 2795, says:

“The mortgage clause making the mortgagee payee and stipulating that the insurance shall not he invalidated by the mortgagor’s acts or neglect, constitutes an independent contract between said mortgagee and insurer, and in such case the subject-matter of the insurance is the mortgagee’s insurable interest, and not the real estate, and the risk will not be avoided by any act of the mortgagor, whether done prior or subsequent to or at the time of the issue of the policy.” Hanover Fire Ins. Co. v. Bohn (Neb.) 67 N. W. 774; Phoenix Ins. Co. v. Omaha Loan & Trust Co. (Neb.) 60 N. W. 133; People’s Savings Bank v. Retail Merchants Mutual Fire Ins. Assn. (Iowa) 123 N. W. 198; Gilman v. Commonwealth Ins. Co. of N. Y. (Me.) 92 Atl. 721; Smith v. Union Ins. Co. (R. I.) 55 Atl. 715; Fireman’s Ins. Co. v. Boland, 30 Ohio Cir. Rep. 811, 18 L. R. A. (N. S.) 204.

In the ease of Reed v. Fireman’s Insurance Co., 81 N. J. Law, 523, 35 L. R. A. (N. S.) 343, the Supreme Court of New Jersey in part said:

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Bluebook (online)
1925 OK 392, 113 Okla. 4, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 849, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dickason-goodman-lbr-co-v-home-ins-co-okla-1925.