Farmers' Store of Wheaton, Inc. v. Delaware Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance

59 N.W.2d 889, 240 Minn. 170, 1953 Minn. LEXIS 687
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedAugust 28, 1953
DocketNo. 36,006
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 59 N.W.2d 889 (Farmers' Store of Wheaton, Inc. v. Delaware Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farmers' Store of Wheaton, Inc. v. Delaware Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance, 59 N.W.2d 889, 240 Minn. 170, 1953 Minn. LEXIS 687 (Mich. 1953).

Opinion

Thomas Gallagher, Justice.

Action for the reformation of a fire insurance policy and for recovery thereunder for loss occasioned by a fire which destroyed merchandise of plaintiff of the value of $5,512.35. The merchandise was stored in a barn located in Monson township in Traverse county some four or five miles northeast of Wheaton, where plaintiff maintained its principal mercantile business. The fire occurred on July 11, 1950.

For some years prior to the fire, it had been plaintiff’s custom to store a part of its merchandise in a municipally owned building at the fair grounds outside the village limits of Wheaton. On October 1,1916, defendant, a mutual fire insurance company, issued its fire policy No. 11778 to plaintiff in the principal sum of $1,500 covering merchandise thus stored in the fair grounds building. In 1918, by agreement between the parties, the coverage thereof was increased to $10,000, evidenced by a written endorsement issued by defendant and attached to the policy.

In the latter part of August 1918, plaintiff removed all its stored merchandise from the fair grounds building to a barn located on the southwest quarter of section 28 and the northeast quarter of section 33 in Monson township, where the fire later occurred. Other merchandise was subsequently stored in a new warehouse in Wheaton completed by plaintiff in October 1918, so that after August 1918 the fair grounds building was not required for storage purposes.

On September 7, 1918, at plaintiff’s request, defendant issued to plaintiff a removal permit and an endorsement extending coverage of the policy to plaintiff’s merchandise stored in the Monson township barn, at the same time terminating the coverage of merchandise [172]*172in the fair grounds building. This permit was issued in duplicate and a carbon copy thereof attached by defendant to its policy record. It specified:

“Property insured under Policy No. 14778 is now removed to the SW % of Sec. 28 and NE % of Section 33, Township of Monson, County of Traverse, State of Minnesota, and the above numbered policy is hereby made to cover at the above location and to cease to cover at the old location, from and after this date. * * *”

During August 1949, in the course of examining some 40 policies of various kinds which plaintiff owned, Mr. Chester H. Johanson, its general manager, secretary, and treasurer, noted that policy No. 14778 on its face appeared to still cover only property stored in the fair grounds building near Wheaton. The removal permit above described had not been attached thereto, although Mr. Johanson does not deny that this permit had been received by plaintiff. Since no property had been stored in the fair grounds building for approximately a year, Mr. Johanson, on behalf of plaintiff, forwarded the policy to defendant with a letter dated August 21, 1949, wherein he instructed defendant to:

“Cancel the enclosed policy covering merchandise in the County Fair buildings as of Sept 1st, 1949. We will then have this merchandise in our regular warehouse.”

At the time defendant received this letter, Mr. Harold Johnson, its secretary and treasurer, knew that the policy covered merchandise stored in the barn in Monson township, but having no other information, instructions, or data with reference thereto cancelled it in its entirety in response to the directions in the letter. Thereafter no further assessment notices were forwarded to plaintiff, and nothing was done by either party with reference thereto. Testimony was submitted by Mr. Johnson, as secretary and treasurer of defendant, that he corresponded with policyholders who were confused about coverage in their policies and advised them with reference to any mistakes therein if such mistakes were noted by defendant. He testified that in this particular case he was not aware that plain[173]*173tiff desired to cancel the policy only as to merchandise in the fair grounds building, as plaintiff now contends.

On July 11, 1950, a fire completely destroyed the merchandise in the Monson township barn with loss to plaintiff in the sum of $5,512.35, for which a claim was promptly filed with defendant and for which defendant denied liability. This action followed.

It is plaintiff’s contention here that the policy was cancelled as a result of a mutual mistake by plaintiff and defendant in that the letter of August 21, 1949, reasonably construed, clearly indicated that plaintiff intended to cancel the policy only as to the merchandise in the building at the fair grounds and also that, in the absence of a mutual mistake, there was a unilateral mistake on the part of plaintiff, fundamental in its character, of which defendant should have been aware and of which it took an unconscionable advantage requiring equitable intervention to prevent intolerable injustice.

The trial court determined that the policy was cancelled as of September 1, 1949, at the direction of plaintiff; that there was no mutual mistake in connection therewith; and that defendant was not aware of a unilateral mistake on the part of plaintiff and of which it took advantage, holding that the long period between the cancellation and the fire, during which plaintiff took no action with reference to the policy or the assessments due thereon, was of controlling importance.

Defendant, as a Minnesota township mutual fire insurance company, is subject to the provisions of M. S. A. 67.10, which provides :

“* * * Membership may be terminated at any time by giving written notice to the secretary and paying the withdrawing members’ share of all existing claims, or by the annulment of any policy by a majority of the directors and written notice thereof to the holder.”

The policy here in question provided (Article VI, § 1):

[174]*174“Any member may terminate his membership in the company by surrendering his policy to the secretary and paying all existing claims and expenses.”

It is obvious from a reading of these provisions that plaintiff’s letter of August 21, 1949, effectively cancelled policy No. 14778. The written notice forwarded by it was determinative thereof. 6 Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice, §§ 4226, 4227; 29 Am. Jur., Insurance, § 294; 45 C. J. S., Insurance, § 458. The unearned premiums became due plaintiff, but the fact that they had not been returned did not alter or change the fact that the policy was effectively terminated in compliance with plaintiff’s directions. 6 Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice, § 4227, note 99; Annotation, Ann. Cas. 1918C, 129; Parsons & Arbaugh v. Northwestern Nat. Ins. Co. 133 Iowa 532, 110 N. W. 907; Gately-Haire Co. Inc. v. Niagara F. Ins. Co. 221 N. Y. 162, 116 N. E. 1015, Ann. Cas. 1918C, 115; McCormick v. Travelers Ins. Co. 215 Mo. App. 258, 264 S. W. 916. The purpose of the provisions referred to is to enable an insured to cancel a policy at will so that he may be enabled to obtain other coverage without delay. Parsons & Arbaugh v. Northwestern Nat. Ins. Co. supra,; Insurance Commr. v. People’s F. Ins. Co. 68 N. H. 51, 44 A. 82.

With reference to the question of mistake, either mutual or unilateral, it is clear that in determining issues relative thereto the general rule requiring affirmance of fact findings reasonably supported by the evidence is applicable. Keogh v. Sharon Township Mut. F. Ins. Co. 195 Minn. 575, 263 N. W. 601; Hartigan v. Norwich Union Ind. Co. 188 Minn. 48, 246 N. W. 477; Haedge v. Gaver, 173 Minn.

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Bluebook (online)
59 N.W.2d 889, 240 Minn. 170, 1953 Minn. LEXIS 687, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farmers-store-of-wheaton-inc-v-delaware-farmers-mutual-fire-insurance-minn-1953.