Employers' Liability Assurance Corp. v. Glens Falls Insurance

470 P.2d 682, 12 Ariz. App. 362, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 657
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJune 12, 1970
Docket2 CA-CIV 778
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 470 P.2d 682 (Employers' Liability Assurance Corp. v. Glens Falls Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Employers' Liability Assurance Corp. v. Glens Falls Insurance, 470 P.2d 682, 12 Ariz. App. 362, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 657 (Ark. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

HOWARD, Chief Judge.

This is a controversy between two insurance liability carriers that insured, under separate policies,. Mr. and Mrs. M. O. Simpson. A lawsuit was brought against the Simpsons by Mrs. M. Heiderich. Mrs. Heiderich obtained a judgment which appellant contends should be paid equally by the two carriers and which appellee contends should be prorated on a five-sixths and one-sixth basis.

Both parties agree that unless there was an agreement to modify the terms of the two policies, appellant would be liable for five-sixths of the judgment and appellee would be liable for one-sixth of the judgment.

This action was brought by appellant to obtain the balance of the monies it believed appellee owed, namely, the difference between the one-sixth that appellee paid and the one-half for which appellant claims is due.

Shortly after the accident occurred, and at least one year before action was instituted, the claims managers of both insurance companies had a meeting. At that time they agreed, on behalf of their companies, to cooperate in the adjustment of the claim and to share the expenses as well as the payment of the claim on an equal basis. 'After suit was instituted, the claims managers agreed among themselves that appellee’s attorney would be retained to defend the action. They further agreed that they would continue to work in concert and that appellant’s claims manager would be kept fully advised and that he was to, and did, receive copies of all reports. Appellant’s claims manager testified that he retained the right to terminate the attorney’s employment at any time.

On. April 16, 1962, appellee’s claims manager sent a letter to the attorney stating that the attorney’s fees and the amount of any judgment would be shared equally by the two insurance companies. On November 11, 1962, appellee’s claims manager sent a memorandum to his superiors setting forth the equal sharing arrangement. Appellant’s claims manager testified that he assumed that the appellee’s claims manager missed the proration feature of the policy.

He further testified that this agreement was never to his knowledge confirmed by any other employee of appellee. He said that he did not even know whether appel-lee’s claims manager had authority to enter into the agreement but merely assumed that he did. He stated that, in all his years in the claims business, he never had occasion to obligate a company for more than its pro rata share of liability coverage. He said that he did not know of any benefit received by appellee under the alleged agreement nor did he know of any detriments suffered by appellant. He also testified that even if there had not been this agreement, appellant would not have managed and handled the file in any other manner.

Appellee’s claims manager testified that he had complete authority over all files where the reserves were less than $5,000.00 until such time as suit was filed. The institution of legal proceedings terminated such complete authority. Under no circumstances did he have authority to enter into an agreement to alter the conditions of the policy contract.

EXPRESS AUTHORITY

Appellant contends that appellee’s claims manager had actual authority to enter into an agreement with the appellant to share the attorney’s fees, costs of suit, and payment of judgment on an equal basis. Ap-pellee states the proposition that a principal is not responsible for a contract which he has neither directly nor indirectly authorized and when one deals with another knowing him to be an agent the burden is upon that person to prove the agent’s authority. Brutinel v. Nygren, 17 Ariz. 491, 154 P. 1042 (1916).

*364 In meeting this burden of proof, the statement or testimony of the alleged agent is not competent to prove either (a) the agency relationship or (b) the scope of that agency. Both must be proven by the acts, statements or conduct of the principal. Udall, Arizona Law of Evidence, (1960) § 119 at 252. Thus, the testimony or statements of appellee’s claims manager would be incompetent to prove the nature and extent of the agency. The only other witness who was called — that is appellant’s claims manager, testified that he did not know the extent of the authority of appellee’s claims manager.

IMPLIED AUTHORITY

Thus, there being insufficient evidence to prove express authority, we now turn to the question of implied authority. Appellant claims the authority was implied from the fact that the claims manager had so-called “complete” authority on all claims with a reserve of less than $5,000.00. Appellee points out that this is contrary to their claims manager’s testimony. He testified that he did not have authority to agree to alter the conditions of the policy regardless of the reserve or his draft authority; that he did not have authority to hire attorneys; and that he had to report on all suit files.

In Brutinel the court made it clear that implied authority is authority to do those acts within the ordinary and usual scope of the business which the agent is empowered to transact. Appellant has not offered evidence to prove that claims managers ordinarily and usually have authority to alter the terms of the insurance policies. The testimony of appellant’s claims manager was that in all his years in such capacity he had never done so and appellee’s claims manager testified that he did not have such authority.

APPARENT AUTHORITY

Section 8 of the Restatement of Agency (Second) defines apparent authority as:

“ * * * the power to affect the legal relations of another person by transactions with third persons, professedly as agent for the other, arising from and in accordance with the other’s manifestations to such third persons.” At 37.

By definition, there must be a manifestation by the principal to the third person. There was no proof of any manifestation by the appellee that its claims manager had the authority to alter the terms of its policy contract. As the appellant points out, one of the essential elements of apparent authority is that the third person knew of the facts, and acting in good faith, believed and had reason to believe, that the agent possessed such authority. Appellant’s claims manager testified that he did not know whether or not appellee’s claims manager had such authority, that he merely assumed that he did and also that he knew that appellee’s claims manager had made a mistake.

CONSIDERATION

Appellant then raises the question that if appellee’s claims manager had such authority, was the agreement supported by good consideration. We believe that there was sufficient evidence for the trial court to find that the agreement was not supported by adequate consideration. Appellant claims that a change of position in reliance upon a promise or representation may supply consideration for the promise. However, there was no evidence that appellant did in fact, change its position to its detriment.

AGENCY BY ESTOPPEL

Appellant’s claim of estoppel is without merit. There was no proof that appellant relied, upon such appearance of authority, changed his position and was, therefore, injured or suffered loss.

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Bluebook (online)
470 P.2d 682, 12 Ariz. App. 362, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 657, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/employers-liability-assurance-corp-v-glens-falls-insurance-arizctapp-1970.