Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. McCullough

235 Cal. App. 2d 195, 44 Cal. Rptr. 915, 1965 Cal. App. LEXIS 920
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 21, 1965
DocketCiv. 438
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 235 Cal. App. 2d 195 (Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. McCullough) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. McCullough, 235 Cal. App. 2d 195, 44 Cal. Rptr. 915, 1965 Cal. App. LEXIS 920 (Cal. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

CONLEY, P. J.

— This litigation had its inception in an automobile collision which occurred on January 28, 1962, on Road 132, near its intersection with Avenue 80, in Tulare County, between a 1949 Ford sedan owned of record by Herbert Frost and driven by Danny Lee Burns, and a 1954 Plymouth sedan owned and operated by David McCullough. *197 Wanda Burns was the mother of Danny Lee Burns, the minor, who was driving the Ford sedan. Louise Lee and Jerry Lee, Jr. were seated in the McCullough car.

This action was originally brought by Wanda Burns and her minor son against the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, hereinafer called Hartford; plaintiffs sought declaratory relief and recovery for breach of contract, claiming the existence of a policy of insurance issued by Hartford to Lowe C. Burns, deceased husband of Wanda Burns, and that said policy by its terms covered the Burns family for injuries of Danny and damages sustained by plaintiffs.

The clerk’s transcript also indicates that David McCullough, Louise Lee, and Jerry Lee, Jr. filed a separate suit for personal injuries against Danny Lee Burns, Wanda Burns, and Herbert W. Frost, which has not as yet been tried.

In the instant action, Hartford filed a cross-complaint against Wanda Burns, individually, and as guardian ad litem of Danny Lee Burns, David McCullough, Herbert W. Frost, Louise Lee, the Estate of Jerry Lee, Jr., and one Donald Bonkoslty; in the first cause of action of the cross-complaint, the insurance company averred that the insurance policy previously issued to Lowe C. Burns, no longer applied because of a breach of contract by the Burns family in failing to give it notice of the accident for a period of at least 12 months after it occurred, with the consequence that Hartford suffered actual prejudice by being unable to make a timely investigation of the accident, or possibly by settling claims arising from the collision on a favorable basis. In the second cause of action contained in the cross-complaint, Hartford referred to Mr. McCullough’s request for a policy of insurance, and the agreement of the company to issue it conditioned upon the payment of the proper premium; it was alleged that said cross-defendant failed to pay any premium; that no such policy was ever in effect, and that, in any event, it had been legally cancelled prior to the accident; consequently, the inclusion therein of a clause protecting the occupants of the McCullough automobile in the event of a collision with an uninsured motorist was never effective.

After hearing the evidence, the court signed findings of fact and conclusions of law and a judgment in which it was held that Wanda Burns and Danny Lee Burns had in fact been insured by the policy referred to in the first cause of action of the cross-complaint, but that they had failed to notify the *198 insurance company of the occurrence of the accident for 12 months, thereby causing such actual prejudice and damage to Hartford as to make the policy inapplicable. There was no appeal by any party as to that portion of the judgment, and it has become final.

The appeal applies only to the findings and judgment on the second cause of action in the cross-complaint that an effective policy of insurance was issued to David McCullough, and that as it was never properly cancelled, it still remained in full force and effect at the time of the accident. The findings with respect to these issues are that Hartford issued a liability insurance policy numbered 57GF269086 to David McCullough, covering a 1954 Plymouth automobile owned by him, and that in accordance with legal requirements, the policy contained a provision covering injuries resulting from a collision between the car and an uninsured motorist; that a copy of the policy was forwarded to him, although the original of the policy was retained by the local agent of Hartford, one Gene Fuerbringer; that said policy was effective as of September 6, 1961; that David McCullough “failed to pay the amount agreed upon between David McCullough and the agent of Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company”; that the agent for the company and McCullough “. . . agreed that said policy should be cancelled upon a failure to pay the premium”; that “the agent for Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company did not inform David McCullough in writing of the California Assigned Risk Plan and advising the insured of his possible rights to obtain insurance coverage under the policy and a brief description of the manner in which he might avail himself of the plan”; that, consequently, the policy was never effectively cancelled; that Danny Lee Burns “. . . was not covered by insurance at the time of the collision”; and that “Louise Lee and Jerry Lee, Jr. were passengers in the car of David McCullough.”

As conclusions of law, the court determined that the policy “. .. issued to David McCullough was in full force and effect upon the date of loss, January 28, 1962”; that the attempted cancellation of the policy “. . . did not comply with Sections 651 and 652 of the California Insurance Code”; that Danny Lee Burns was an uninsured motorist; that David McCullough, Louise Lee, and the Estate of Jerry Lee, Jr. were beneficiaries under the uninsured motorist provisions of the policy, and that they should have judgment in this action for their costs of suit

*199 In a review of the record in this case, we must first inquire whether an effective insurance policy was issued and delivered by the company to David McCullough (27 Cal.Jur.2d, Insurance, § 194, p. 682), and, secondly, if such a policy was ever in force, whether it was legally cancelled prior to the accident?

This court must follow the universal appellate rule that if the evidence at the trial was in conflict on any point we cannot disturb the apposite findings of fact, if they are supported by substantial evidence. In the process of examining the record, we must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing parties, giving them the benefit, not only of conflicting evidence, but of every reasonable inference which may be drawn from the testimony to support the judgment. (Crawford v. Southern Pacific Co., 3 Cal.2d 427 [45 P.2d 183].)

Was there an effective contract of insurance in favor of David McCullough ? To answer this we must ascertain whether a policy was issued and delivered. The trial court found that Hartford issued a liability insurance policy to David McCullough on his 1954 Plymouth automobile. This finding, apart from the question of delivery, is supported by substantial evidence. Mr. Fuerbringer, a local agent for the Hartford company, testified that a policy was issued by the company, and Mr. Zahner, who was charged with the processing of claims against the company, said that the company’s records showed the date of the issuance of the policy.

But the word “issuance’’ as applied to insurance policies has more than one meaning. In Brix v. Peoples Mut. Life Ins. Co., 124 Cal.App. 65, 66 [12 P.2d 108

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Golden Eagle Insurance v. Foremost Insurance
20 Cal. App. 4th 1372 (California Court of Appeal, 1993)
Ahern v. Dillenback
1 Cal. App. 4th 36 (California Court of Appeal, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
235 Cal. App. 2d 195, 44 Cal. Rptr. 915, 1965 Cal. App. LEXIS 920, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hartford-accident-indemnity-co-v-mccullough-calctapp-1965.