Home Mutual Fire Ins. v. Pierce

402 S.W.2d 672, 240 Ark. 865, 1966 Ark. LEXIS 1415
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 16, 1966
Docket5-3880
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 402 S.W.2d 672 (Home Mutual Fire Ins. v. Pierce) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Home Mutual Fire Ins. v. Pierce, 402 S.W.2d 672, 240 Ark. 865, 1966 Ark. LEXIS 1415 (Ark. 1966).

Opinion

Osro Cobb, Justice.

On January 12, 1965, appellee’s chicken brooder house and equipment and supplies contained therein were damaged by fire in the amount of $15,550. At the time of the loss, appellee was covered by appellant’s policy of insurance scheduling coverage on the brooder house at $10,000 and on equipment and supplies there at $6,000. A feed tank valued at $450 was salvaged from the fire and the loss resulted in a claim against appellant in the sum of $15,550. Appellant took the position that its liability was limited to two thirds of the loss. All of the facts relied upon by the parties were stipulated in the trial court and jury waived. The court found for appellee in the full amount of the loss, and appellant is here on appeal.

The Pertinent Facts as Stipulated

Appellee is a large operator of chicken brooder houses, using four farms in the general vicinity of Gravette as sites for same. Much expensive equipment is used. Prior to December 23, 1964, appellant had issued to appellee a separate policy of insurance on dwellings and named structures on each of said farms. On December 23, 1964, a new policy was written consolidating the coverage and on December 31, 1964, an endorsement was placed on the policy increasing some of the coverage. The provisions of the policy at issue are quoted in full in our discussion below of the law applicable to the particular facts of this case.

The farm site where the fire loss occurred had a dwelling thereon. When appellant inspected the property to write the original insurance a tenant was residing in the dwelling, but said tenant was engaged solely in hog raising and had and exercised no authority or responsibility as to appellee’s brooder house. Special personnel operated the brooder house, visitng same three or more times per day.

When appellant wrote and delivered the new policy covering the four farms, it made no additional physical inspection of same. Prior to the issuance of said new policy the tenant moved from the dwelling. It is stipulated, without providing any details, that said dwelling had not been occupied for more than 30 days prior to the fire.

Appellant urges two points for reversal and we discuss same in the order presented.

Point 1—Appellant contends that when the insurance is upon a farm dwelling and subordinate buildings, the occupancy of the dwelling determines the character of the occupancy of the barn and other outbuildings used in connection with it.

The principle stated under Point 1 is one that has been approved and widely applied in many jurisdictions including our own. It was exhaustively examined and approved in one of our cases upon which appellant primarily relies. Farmers Fire Ins Co. v. Farris, 224 Ark. 736, 276 S. W. 2d 44 (1955). In Farris we referred to American Ins. Co. v. Hays, 174 Ark. 772, 296 S. W. 724 (1927), where we quoted with approval a Wisconsin decision, Hotchkiss v. Insurance Co., 76 Wis. 269, 44 N. W. 1106 (1890), as follows:

“Under certain circumstances, premises may be vacant or unoccupied when, under other circumstances, premises in like situation may not be so, within the meaning of that term in insurance policies.”

Appellant has called our attention to several cases from other jurisdictions. Continental Ins. Co. v. Dunning, 249 Ky. 234, 60 S. W. 2d 577 (1933); Republic County Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 69 Kan. 146, 76 Pac. 419 (1904); Agricultural Ins. Co. v. Hamilton, 82 Md. 88, 33 Atl. 429 (1895); Ashworth v. Builders Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 112 Mass. 422, 17 Am. Rep. 117 (1873).

After examining said case authorities we have reached the conclusion that the brooder house and equipment therein destroyed in this fire was neither subordinate to or used in connection with the farm dwelling, the facts in the case at bar being clearly distinguishable from the facts in the cases relied upon by appellant. Our principal reasons for this conclusion follow:

1. Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2d ed., defines subordinate: ‘ ‘ Inferior in order, nature, importance, or the like—dependent.”

2. In all cases cited by appellant the dwelling was of much greater value than the outbuildings—the outbuildings consisting of barns, corn cribs, smoke houses, etc. Indeed, appellant cites no case involving a brooder house operation.

3. In this case the brooder house and equipment therein was insured for $16,000, same being more than five times the amount of insurance on the dwelling.

4. The brooder house was operated by personnel entirely separate and apart from other operations on the farm.

5. When appellant inspected the premises prior to writing insurance, it learned that the tenant in the farm dwelling was engaged solely in hog raising and had and exercised no authority or responsibility whatever as to the care and operation of the brooder house.

6 Appellant was at all times here under review on notice that the tenant of the dwelling, whether occupying same or not, had no connection with the brooder house and its operation.

7. The brooder house operation was the most important enterprise on this farm. It had no dependence upon the dwelling and the occupant thereof, if occupied.

8. Under the particular circumstances of this case, stipulated by the parties, the brooder bouse simply was not used in connection with the dwelling.

It is clear to us that appellant’s Point 1, while sound in principle, is inapplicable to the stipulated facts of the case. We therefore find no merit in appellant’s contentions under said point.

Point 2—Appellant next contends that the farm dwelling had not been occupied on the farm in question for more than 30 days at the time of the fire and that under the terms of its policy of insurance it was liable to appellee only to the extent of two thirds of the loss or $10,366.67.

On December 23, 1964, appellant issued its policy No. 4627 for a period of five years, replacing four other unexpired policies previously issued by appellant to appellee. On December 31, 1964, an endorsement was issued increasing the coverage on the equipment in the brooder house that subsequently burned from $5,000 to $6,000. The fire occurred on January 12,1965, less than 30 days from the date of the new policy and only 12 days subsequent to the specific added coverage provided in the policy endorsement of December 31.

It can not be said that policy No. 4627 related to any other period of coverage except the five years beginning on December 23,1964, the by-laws of the insurance company expressly limiting its policies to a five-year period.

Appellant contends that its endorsement of the policy No. 4627 by Form 50, which specifically refers solely to the farm dwelling, has equal application to the brooder house. We quote same:

“VACANCY OR UNOCCUPANCY PERMIT—

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

Related

DeBartolo v. Underwriters at Lloyd's of London
2007 VT 31 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 2007)
Pappas Enterprises, Inc. v. Commerce & Industry Insurance
422 Mass. 80 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1996)
Gas Kwick, Inc. v. United Pacific Insurance
58 F.3d 1536 (Eleventh Circuit, 1995)
State Farm General Insurance v. Smith
543 S.W.2d 470 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1976)
Kolivera v. Hartford Fire Insurance
290 N.E.2d 356 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1972)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
402 S.W.2d 672, 240 Ark. 865, 1966 Ark. LEXIS 1415, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/home-mutual-fire-ins-v-pierce-ark-1966.