Home Ins. Co. v. Shugar

43 S.W.2d 312
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 10, 1931
DocketNo. 10871
StatusPublished

This text of 43 S.W.2d 312 (Home Ins. Co. v. Shugar) 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
Home Ins. Co. v. Shugar, 43 S.W.2d 312 (Tex. Ct. App. 1931).

Opinion

JONES, C. J.

On October 14, 1927, the Home Insurance Company, plaintiff in error, instituted suit against defendants in error, J. Shugar, as principal on an indemnity bond, and R. T. Meador, John J. Roberts, Jr., and Roberts Grain Company, as sureties. A trial resulted in favor of defendants in error, and a writ of error is duly prosecuted for review of the cause in this court. Por convenience, plain- • tiff in error will be styled insurance company, and the defendants in error as defendants. Defendants have not filed any brief. The essential facts are:

G. A. Tedford and wife were the owners of a Locomobile automobile, which they transferred on September 22, 1922, to one G. C. Wisdom, in consideration of Wisdom’s transfer and assignment to them of a note in the sum of $2,400, purporting to be secured by a second lien on thirteen acres' of land in Dallas county. Wisdom represented to the Tedfords that he owned the thirteen acres of land and that the note was secured by a second lien on the land. This. representation was believed by the Tedfords, and they made the trade solely in the belief that Wisdom owned the-land, "and that the note was a bona fide second lien on same. Immediately after the possession of the car was delivered to Wisdom, he transferred apd delivered same to defendant Shugar." It appears that there was no consideration for this latter transfer. After the transfer of the car to Shugar, he applied for and secured from the insurance company a policy of insurance protecting the car against fire and theft. This policy, among other things, provided that: “Except as to any lien, mortgage, or other encumbrance specifically set forth and described in paragraph D of this policy, this entire policy shall be void, unless otherwise provided by agreement in writing added thereto, if the interest of the assured in the subject of this insurance be or become other than unconditional and sole lawful ownership, or’ if the subject of this insurance has ever been stolen or unlawfully taken prior to the issuance of this policy and not returned to the lawful owner prior' to the issuance of this policy. * * * ”

The policy was issued October 4, 1922, and on October 24, 1922, the automobile in question was damaged by fire in the agreed sum of $1,925.50. The insurance policy was for a sum not to exceed $5,700; the car being a 1922 Locomobile model.

The Tedfords discovered, soon after the car had been delivered into the possession of Shugar, that Wisdom owned no interest whatever in the said thirteen acres of land, and that the note they had been induced to accept in payment for their car Was no lien whatever on the land, and demanded a rescission of the trade and a return of the car, claiming Wisdom and Shugar had conspired together to secure possession of the car by means of false and fraudulent representations as to the security for the $2,400 note.

When demand was made by Shugar on the insurance company for the payment of the fire damage, the insurance company had been notified by the Tedfords of their claim on the' ear, and it agreed to pay such claim only in the event that Shugar would execute to it the indemnity bond, which is the foundation of this suit. This bond was executed on November 2, 1922, and the sum of $1,925.50 paid to Shugar on November 9, 1922; the entire amount of this payment being expended by Shugar in repairing the automobile. The bond recites that “a question had arisen as to the title of said J. Shugar in the said automobile and the said insurance company had been given notice of a possible litigation by persons claiming title to this automobile.” It further recites that Shugar desired to have the automobile repaired, and represented to the insurance company that title to such automobile was in him, and further that the “said Home Insurance Company desires to be fully protected by reason of such payment.”

That portion of the indemnity bond that is material to this issue reads: “Now therefore, in consideration of the payment of $1,-925.50 to the said J. Shugar, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the said J. Shugar, as principal, and R. T. Meador and John J. Roberts and-, as sureties, agree that in the event it should be determined either by agreement or by judicial or other proceedings that the title’ to the said automobile above described was not in fact in the said J. Shugar at the time of its damage by fire, the principal and sureties herein will pay to the Home Insurance Company of New York the sum of $1,925.50, with interest from date of this instrument, at eight per cent, per annum. * ⅜ ⅜ ”

The bond contains this further clause: “The principal and sureties herein further agree that, in the event that the obligations herein undertaken are not discharged by the principal and sureties and it becomes necessary to collect the same through suit or any other legal proceedings, or by attorneys, that they pay in addition to all other obligations herein contained an attorney’s fee of twenty per cent, of the amount involved in such [314]*314suit or claim, together with all costs of collection thereof.”

• The Tedfords, seasonably filed a suit against Wisdom and Shugar for a rescission of the contract between themselves and Wisdom and for possession of the car. A writ of sequestration was caused to be issued by the Tedfords in such suit, but the car was re-plevied by Shugar. In this suit the Ted-fords alleged a cause of action against Wisdom and Shugar on the ground of conspiracy and fraud in the matter of causing the transfer to Wisdom of their automobile. The allegations in their petition were such as to state a cause of action in their favor. The case was tried to a jury, submitted on special issues, and the jury found, in response to the special issues, (1) that Wisdom and Shugar, on or about September 22, 1922, conspired together with reference to acquiring the title to the Tedford’s automobile; (2) that the purchase from the Tedfords by Wisdom of said automobile on September 22, 1922, resulted from such conspiracy; (3) that Wisdom represented to Tedford he had good title to the said thirteen acres of land in Dallas county, subject to a first lien of $6,500; (4) that such representation was false and untrue; (5) that Wisdom made such representation to the Tedfords in bad faith; (6) that the Tedfords relied solely upon Wisdom’s representation in the sale of the said automobile to Wisdom.

There were other findings of the jury in reference to damages resulting to the Ted-fords for being deprived of the use of their car. Judgment was entered on this verdict in favor of the Tedfords in the sum of $2,-872, of which $1,100 apparently represented the then value of the car, and $1,772 represented the damages sustained for being deprived of the use of the car. This judgment provided that, if the car should be delivered to the sheriff to be returned to the Tedfords, the defendants should be given credit for $1,100. The car was delivered to the sheriff and returned to the Tedfords and the credit given. The portion of the judgment awarding damages was appealed to this court under the style of Hall et al. v. Tedford et al., 279 S. W. 314, and this part of the judgment was reversed, but the part of the judgment in reference to the ownership of the car was not disturbed.

The trial court filed very full findings of fact, at the request of appellant, and the findings above stated are in accordance with the trial court’s findings. No statement of facts accompanies the record, and no exceptions were made to the court's findings of fact.

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Bluebook (online)
43 S.W.2d 312, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/home-ins-co-v-shugar-texapp-1931.