General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corp. v. Mitchell

259 P.2d 862, 128 Colo. 11, 1953 Colo. LEXIS 226
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedJuly 6, 1953
DocketNo. 16,845
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 259 P.2d 862 (General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corp. v. Mitchell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corp. v. Mitchell, 259 P.2d 862, 128 Colo. 11, 1953 Colo. LEXIS 226 (Colo. 1953).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Alter

delivered the opinion of the court.

John G. Mitchell and his wife, Leona Mitchell, and four of their children, began garnishment proceedings to collect from the General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., judgments which they had obtained against Vern L. Greathouse and M. M. Peterson, said judgments being based upon injuries received by the plaintiffs in a collision of their car with an automobile driven by Greathouse. General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., was garnisheed in the action, and upon traverse having been filed to its answer, trial was had resulting in verdicts upon which judgments were entered, and General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., is here by writ of error seeking a reversal of such judgments.

We will herein refer to the Mitchells, father, wife and four children, as Mitchells; to Vernon L. Greathouse as Greathouse; to M. M. Peterson as Peterson; to General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., as General.

Plaintiffs in the six complaints filed in the original action allege injuries received by the respective plaintiffs in an automobile collision between a car driven by [13]*13John Mitchell, in which the five other plaintiffs were passengers, and one driven by Greathouse. The damages for which judgment is sought are in different amounts, and in each complaint is the following allegation: “3. At the time and place first aforesaid, defendant Great-house was an agent and employee of defendants Peterson, Securities Credit Corporation, and Doolittle, and of each of them, and was then and there, while driving the automobile driven by him as aforesaid and when he drove said automobile against the automobile in which plaintiff [plaintiffs] was a passenger as aforesaid, driving the automobile driven by him as aforesaid, for and on behalf of defendants Peterson, Securities Credit Corporation, and Doolittle, and each of them, and in the course of and as a part of such agency and employment for and by defendants Peterson, Securities Credit Corporation and Doolittle, and each of them.”

Greathouse in his answer admits the accident, denies each and every allegation in plaintiffs’ separate complaints “except that at the time mentioned therein, he was acting as the agent of the defendant M. M. Peterson.”

Peterson, in his answer, denied that Greathouse was his agent or employee at the time of the accident; generally denied all other allegations in said complaints, alleging that “this defendant has not and cannot obtain sufficent knowledge or information upon which to base a belief, and, therefore, denies the same.” Peterson filed a cross complaint against defendant Vernon L. Great-house in which he prayed that “if judgment be rendered in favor of the plaintiff [plaintiffs] and against this-cross-complainant that: (1) the Court find, declare, and order that said judgment be paid by the defendant Great-house, (2) that in the event all or any part of said judgment is not paid by the Defendant Greathouse, that the Court declare and order that the cross-complainant have judgment against defendant Greathouse for such sums of money as this cross-complainant may have been required [14]*14to pay for said judgment, (3) that this cross-complainant recover his costs, * * * ” Defendant Doolittle’s answer is a general denial. Defendant Securities Credit Corporation denied that Greathouse was its agent or employee at the time of the accident and denied all other allegations in the complaint.

For a complete understanding of the factual situation giving rise to this litigation, we were compelled to study and carefully consider the record filed in this court in an action wherein Peterson was plaintiff in error and the Mitchells, defendants in error here, were parties, which action was subsequently dismissed without final determination by this court. Said records, consisting of three volumes, were offered by the Mitchells as Exhibit A and admitted without objection thereto. .

From these records we find that there were six separate actions begun by the Mitchells against Vern L. Greathouse, M. M. Peterson, Securities Credit Corporation, and Bennye Doolittle, in which the Mitchells sought damages against these named defendants for injuries received in an automobile collision occurring between an automobile in which the Mitchells were riding and one driven by defendant Greathouse. Upon trial of these six actions consolidated into one, several judgments, aggregating $9,500.00 and costs, were entered. Subsequently, the judgments not having been satisfied, garnishee summons were served on General, seeking to recover thereby on General’s standard automobile combination policy issued to Greathouse. General answered; the Mitchells filed their traverse thereto; and, upon trial of the issues, judgments were entered on the verdict of the • jury in the aggregate amount hereinbefore mentioned.

The depositions of Peterson and Greathouse were taken and appear in the record as exhibits although both of them testified during the trial. Peterson testified that he was in the house trailer business and occasionally sold secondhand cars; that he had authorized Greathouse to [15]*15pay $100.00 on the purchase price of the automobile involved in the accident; that on the afternoon of January 4, 1945, he and Greathouse met by Greathouse’s appointment with Mrs. Doolittle to complete the purchase of the automobile, and arrived at the appointed place in Great-house’s automobile, upon which Greathouse carried a standard automobile combination policy with General. He admitted that Greathouse, in connection with the purchase of the car, was his agent and that he was interested in purchasing the car so that he could make a few hundred dollars out of its resale. Subsequent to the collision resulting in the wreck of the purchased car, he executed and delivered his promissory note to Securities Credit Corporation for the amount advanced in making the purchase, and secured the same by a chattel mortgage upon the car, in which chattel mortgage there was a warranty of title.

At the conclusion of plaintiffs’ evidence in the original proceedings, the court, on motion of counsel for Securities Credit Corporation and Bennye Doolittle, dismissed the actions as to them and denied a like motion for Peterson. The court, in passing upon Peterson’s motion for dismissal based upon the ground that there was no evidence of agency, stated: “The Court: As I see it, the sale was made at the bank that night. The car was Peterson’s car right then and there, and he was there to take possession of it. He could have taken possession of it had he wanted to, but he asked Greathouse to drive it to his place of business. At that time Greathouse was Peterson’s agent, performing services for Peterson at Peterson’s request; and he was acting within the scope of his agency and his employment in driving the car from down-town Denver to Peterson’s place of business. He was Peterson’s agent and Peterson is liable. The motion is overruled.”

At the conclusion of all of the evidence, Peterson moved the court that the question of negligence be withdrawn from the jury “and to submit the amount of dam[16]*16ages only,” which motion was granted. Thereupon Peterson moved for a directed verdict in his favor, which motion was denied.

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GENERAL ACC. FIRE & LIFE ASSUR. CORP. v. Mitchell
259 P.2d 862 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1953)

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Bluebook (online)
259 P.2d 862, 128 Colo. 11, 1953 Colo. LEXIS 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/general-accident-fire-life-assurance-corp-v-mitchell-colo-1953.