Federal Underwriters Exchange v. Doyle

110 S.W.2d 618
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 3, 1937
DocketNo. 3112.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 110 S.W.2d 618 (Federal Underwriters Exchange v. Doyle) 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
Federal Underwriters Exchange v. Doyle, 110 S.W.2d 618 (Tex. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

WALKER, Chief Justice.

This appeal is by writ of error, but the parties will be referred to as appellant and appellee.

In district court of Jefferson county, on trial to the court without a jury on the 4th day of January, 1936, appellee, Sam Doyle, was awarded judgment against appellant, Federal Underwriters Exchange, for the sum of $574, with interest at 6 per cent, per annum from date of judgment, under the provisions of the Burke-Roberts Employers’ Liability Act, Act No. 20 of 1914 (as amended), of-the state of Louisiana. It was alleged that appellant was the compensation insurance carrier, appel-lee the employee, and Republic Iron & Metal Company the employer. The employer was also a party defendant; judgment was in its favor sustaining its _ demurrers, general and special.

The employer was a Texas company with its principal place of business in the city of Beaumont, Tex.; as such, appellant issued to it a policy of compensation insurance under the provisions of the Texas Workmen’s Cqmpensation Act (Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art. 8306 et seq.). This policy excluded from its coverage “any Workmen’s Compensation Law, scheme or plan not cited in an endorsement hereto attached.” The Louisiana Liability Act was not “cited” in any indorsement attached to the policy. Neither appellant nor the employer had a permit to transact business in Louisiana. Without the permit, the employer undertook to perform certain work at Starks, La., carrying its employees from Beaumont. On complaint from the Louisiana authorities, the employer released its Texas employees and employed Louisi *619 ana laborers. Appellee was one of- the Louisiana employees, and was injured in the course of his employment. The court found and recited in its judgment the following facts: “The Court having heard the pleadings,' and the evidence, together with the argument of counsel thereon, and being fully satisfied as to the law in the premises, is of the opinion that the plaintiff, Sam Doyle, sustained an injury on or about February 18th, 1935, while employed by the Republic Iron & Metal Company at Starks, Louisiana under a contract of employment entered into between the said premises, Republic Iron & Metal Company and the said Sam Doyle, and that the said Sam Doyle was injured in the course of his employment, and that at the time that he was so employed as aforesaid and received his said injury, the said Republic Iron & Metal Company was a subscriber to the. Workmen’s Compensation Act of the State of Louisiana and had elected and exercised its option of providing for the payment of Workmen’s Compensation insurance to its said employees, and that the said Republic Iron & Metal Company had provided for the payment of workmen’s compensation benefits to its injured employees at said time and place under a policy issued to it by the defendant, Federal Underwriters Exchange, and that as result of the said injury so sustained, the said Sam Doyle will be temporarily totally disabled for a period dating from said injury up until the present, and up until September 6th, 1936, a total of 81 weeks, and that thereafter the said Sam Doyle will be permanently partially incapacitated as compared to the loss of the use of his left foot of 35% for the remainder of the statutory term for which compensation is payable or 44 weeks.”

Appellant presents only two points: (1) The court erred in retaining jurisdiction of this case as against its exception ; (2) under the undisputed evidence appellant had not issued to the employer a policy of insurance under the provision of the Louisiana Liability Act; on the contrary the policy issued by it to the employer affirmatively excluded from its coverage the Louisiana Liability Act. We sustain both of these propositions.

Johnson v. Employers Liability Assur. Corp. (Tex.Civ.App.) 99 S.W.2d 979, writ refused, is directly in point, supporting appellant’s proposition that the trial court was without jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the Louisiana Liability Act.

On the second point appellant does not contend that the original policy, when issued by appellant, afforded protection to the employer and its employees under the Louisiana Liability Act, but insists that appellant is estopped to deny a Louisiana coverage. On the issue of estoppel, the facts are as follows: When the employer began its Louisiana operations it gave due notice to appellant by a telephone conversation. Mr. Horwitz, the employer’s secretary, testified:

“In January, 1935, we had occasion to make an expedition, or engage in business, over around Starks, Louisiana, and before doing so, we took it up with our compensation carrier, Federal Underwriters Exchange., I put in a long distance telephone call and spoke to the manager, Mr. Mohrle. He sent me a letter from Galveston, through the mail. * * * .After this injury, I told Sam Doyle that he would get compensation. I told him I carried compensation insurance and I would report his injury to the Fe'deral Underwriters Exchange, and he agreed to accept it, because he did accept it. 1 talked to Mr. Mohrle over long distance at Galveston and told him we were going to Louisiana and handle this junk and I wanted to know whether our policy would cover it. In the conversation, I don’t know whether I told him I was going to hire men in- Louisiana or not. I don’t remember. It is most likely that I told Mr. Mohrle that I would hire men over there, because we generally hire men on the job. * * *
“Q. Do you recall during the progress of that work about how long it took to do it? A. It took just ábout a month.
“Q. Just about a moijth? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Now, Mr. Horwitz, during the work over there you carried most of your labor over there with you, didn’t you, negroes? A. Yes.
“Q. And you had some trouble over there with the relief, did you not? A. Yes, sir.
“Q., And didn’t you agree with that community over there that you would return those negroes back to Beaumont and hire some of those Starks people to help them out? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. To help the relief situation? A. Yes sir.
“Q. In your statement here you say you only had the one conversation with Mr. Mohrle. A. Mr. Mohrle, yes, sir, only one conversation.
*620 "Q. And you did not recall that you ever advised him that you were hiring men in Louisiana? A. No sir, I do not.”
Mr. Mohrle, named by Mr. Horwitz in his testimony, wrote the following letter:
“Federal Underwriters
“Attorney
“Federal Underwriters Exchange
“Medical Arts Building
“Galveston, Texas
“January 15, 1935
“Mr. Max Horwitz, Secretary
“Republic Iron & Metal Company
“Beaumont, Texas

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Bluebook (online)
110 S.W.2d 618, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/federal-underwriters-exchange-v-doyle-texapp-1937.