Graves v. National Mutual Casualty Co.

188 P.2d 945, 164 Kan. 267, 1948 Kan. LEXIS 407
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJanuary 24, 1948
DocketNo. 36,986; No. 37,002; No. 36,987
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 188 P.2d 945 (Graves v. National Mutual Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Graves v. National Mutual Casualty Co., 188 P.2d 945, 164 Kan. 267, 1948 Kan. LEXIS 407 (kan 1948).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Smith, J.:

The first two of these appeals are from an order overruling defendant insurance company’s demurrer to plaintiff’s petition in each case. The defendants were the same in each case but with a different plaintiff. The third appeal is from an order of the trial court refusing to enjoin the defendant truck operator in the former two cases from carrying on an action in another county against one of the plaintiffs in the first two actions.

The actions involve a collision between two trucks, each one being operated as a common carrier, under certificates from the corporation commission. One of the actions is by the operators of a truck line. In their action they seek to recover for the damages to their truck. The other action is by the driver of the truck, the employee of the operators. In it he seeks to recover damages for personal injuries. The defendants in each one of the actions are the same, that is, an individual operating as a truck company and his insurance carrier. The defendant operator also had a certificate from the corporation commission.

[269]*269The petitions each set out the circumstances of the collision and the relationship of the parties. We are not concerned with that here. The petitions each then contained the following allegations:

“On October 25, 1946, the defendant, W. E. Ruppelius, was the owner of a certificate of convenience and necessity theretofore duly issued by the Kansas Corporation Commission, authorizing his operation on the highways of Kansas as a motor common carrier for the transportation of household goods covering Motor Carrier Route No. 1344, and said defendant truck was on said highway at said time pursuant to said certificate or permit.
“At such time and place said truck was duly insured as required by G. S. 1935, 66-1,128 by policy No. CA 45138 issued by» The National Mutual Casualty Company and approved by the Kansas Corporation Commission as liability insurance to protect and pay compensation for injuries to property resulting from the negligent operation of said defendant truck. Said insurance policy with its statutory endorsement thereon is not hereto attached for the reason that both defendants have duplicates thereof and plaintiffs do not have said original policy of insurance.”

The collision occurred in Harvey county. Defendant Ruppelius resides in Cowley county and the plaintiffs in each action reside in Saline county. The actions were brought in Saline county.

Summons for Ruppelius, doing business as Winfield Transfer and Storage Company, was issued and directed to the sheriff of Cowley county. Service upon him was made by that officer. Summons was issued for the defendant, The National Mutual Casualty Company, directed to the commissioner of insurance, and was served upon that defendant by mail.

Defendant Ruppelius appeared specially and asked that service of the summons upon him in each case be quashed, first because he was not a resident of Saline county and could not under the circumstances of this case be summoned to answer an action filed in Saline county; second, because the defendant insurance company was a foreign corporation and had not been summoned in Saline county; and third, because the petition did not state a good cause of action against the insurance company and no eause of action having been stated against it, the district court had no jurisdiction of defendant * Ruppelius upon whom service of summons was had in Cowley county. The defendant insurance company demurred to each petition on the ground they did not state a cause of action against it and in favor of plaintiff. The motions to quash and the demurrers to the petitions were overruled in each case. Hence these appeals.

We shall first consider the two appeals from the orders overruling the demurrers and the motions to quash.

[270]*270The defendant carried a public liability policy on account of being a common carrier, pursuant to G. S. 1935, 66-1,128. That section provides as follows:

“No certificate or license shall be issued by the .public service commission to any ‘public motor carrier of property/ ‘public motor carrier ,of passengers.’ ‘contract motor carrier of property or .passengers’ or ‘private motor carrier of property/ until and after such applicant shall have filed with, and the same 'has been approved by, the public service commission, a liability insurance policy in some insurance' company or association authorized to transact business in this state, in such reasonable sum as the commission may deem necessary to adequately protect the> interests of the', public with due regard to the number of persons and amount of property involved, which liability insurance shall bind the obligors thereunder to pay compensation for injuries to persons and loss of or damage to property resulting from the negligent operation of such carrier. No other or additional bonds or licenses than those prescribed in this act shall be required of any motor carrier by any city or town or other agency of the state.”

We considered this section in Dunn v. Jones, 143 Kan. 218, 53 P. 2d 918. There the action had been brought to recover from a carrier for damages resulting from a death alleged to have been caused by the negligent operation of a truck being operated by a common carrier. The operator was insured but the policy was in the form of an indemnity policy. The insurance company was named as one of the defendants. We held the statute required that a motor carrier have on file a policy indemnifying it against a condition of being liable, as distinguished from indemnifying it against ultimate established loss, resulting from final enforcement of liability ; that such liability rested on the insurer from the time of the accident resulting in injury; that the obligation might be enforced by an action brought directly against the insurance company; and that the terms of the statute would be read into whatever type of policy was actually filed so that the obligation under it would be that provided by the statute. Ever since that decision in actions against carriers on account of personal injuries sustained from the operation of the carrier the insurance company has been made a party defendant along with the carrier.

The defendant insurance company realizes the force of this decision and does not question its soundness. It argues, however, that the policy should have been made a part of the petition by way of an exhibit or at least its terms should have been set out in the petition. It argues that on account of this lack the petition fails to state a cause of action. The insurance company argues that any [271]*271liability it may have springs from the terms of the policy and no cause of action may be stated against it without either attaching a copy of the policy or at least setting out its terms. It argues there is nothing in the petition as to the contractual , limits of the policy or how much plaintiff seeks to recover from it.

What this court said in Dunn v. Jones, supra, disposes of this argument. At the outset, it should be noted that no motion to require plaintiff to make more definite and certain was leveled at this petition by either of the defendants. In the absence of such motion the petition will be given a liberal construction in favor of the plaintiff. (See Bowersox v. Hall, 73 Kan. 99, 84 Pac. 577.)

In Dunn v. Jones,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
188 P.2d 945, 164 Kan. 267, 1948 Kan. LEXIS 407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/graves-v-national-mutual-casualty-co-kan-1948.