Home Mutual Fire Insurance v. Jones

977 S.W.2d 12, 63 Ark. App. 221, 1998 Ark. App. LEXIS 685
Court of Appeals of Arkansas·Decided October 28, 1998·No. CA 97-1457·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinions

John Mauzy Pittman, Judge.

Appellant Home Mutual Fire Insurance Company was sued by its insureds, appellees Charles and Lavonne Jones. After a jury trial, appellees were awarded $91,500 in policy proceeds. The trial judge added a 12% penalty, prejudgment interest, and attorney’s fees, pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 23-79-208 (Repl. 1992). On appeal, appellant contends that there was no coverage for the loss suffered by appellees, that the trial judge erred in awarding the penalty, interest, and attorney’s fees, and that the trial judge erred in instructing the jury. We find no error and affirm.

Appellees were the owners of a poultry farm, part of which was located in Benton County and part of which was located across the Missouri border. In March 1986, they purchased an insurance policy from appellant. The policy insured three poultry houses for $25,000 each, the contents of each poultry house for $5,000 each, and a barn for $1,500. The cover page of the policy stated: “INSURANCE IS PROVIDED AGAINST ONLY THOSE PERILS AND FOR ONLY THOSE COVERAGES INDICATED BELOW BY A PREMIUM CHARGE AND AGAINST OTHER PERILS AND FOR OTHER COVERAGES ONLY WHEN ENDORSED HEREON OR ADDED HERETO.” According to the cover sheet, appellees paid a premium for fire and lightning coverage and for “extended coverage,” which named the following perils: windstorm, hail, explosion, riot, riot attending a strike, civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, and smoke.

In March 1989, a four-day winter storm struck the northwest portion of the state. The storm began with falling ice, which then changed to snow. The buildup of winter precipitation on the roofs of appellees’ structures caused them to collapse. Within a few days after the storm, appellees notified appellant of their loss. Their claim was denied on the ground that they had not purchased “collapse coverage.” On February 23, 1994, appellees sued appellant in Benton County Circuit Court. After a jury trial, appellees were awarded $91,500 in policy proceeds, the full amount they had sought in their complaint. Following a posttrial hearing, the trial judge imposed a penalty of $10,980 and awarded prejudgment interest and attorney’s fees in the amounts of $43,920 and $36,600, respectively. Appellant filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial, which was deemed denied upon the passage of thirty days without a ruling. See Ark. R. App. P. — Civil 4(c). This appeal followed.

Appellant contends first that the trial judge erred in denying its motion for a directed verdict, which was made at the close of all evidence, and in denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial. It argues that the damage to appellees’ property was not caused by a peril named in the policy but by collapse, a peril for which no coverage was provided. Appellant further claims that the loss suffered by appellees was excluded under the policy. Finally, appellant argues that appellees did not offer sufficient proof of the amount of their damages.

Appellate review of a denial of a motion for directed verdict or a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict entails determining whether the nonmovant’s proof was so insubstantial as to require a jury verdict, if entered on his behalf, to be set aside. St. Edward Mercy Medical Ctr. v. Ellison, 58 Ark. App. 100, 946 S.W.2d 726 (1997). The same standard of review applies to a denial of a motion for a new trial made on the ground that the jury’s verdict was clearly contrary to the preponderance of the evidence. McLaughlin v. Cox, 324 Ark. 361, 922 S.W.2d 327 (1996); Scott v. McClain, 296 Ark. 527, 758 S.W.2d 409 (1988). The question we must answer is whether there was substantial evidence to support the jury’s verdict. Croom v. Younts, 323 Ark. 95, 913 S.W.2d 283 (1996). Substantial evidence is evidence that is of sufficient certainty and precision to compel a conclusion one way or another, forcing or inducing the mind to pass beyond suspicion or conjecture. Winchel v. Craig, 55 Ark. App. 373, 934 S.W.2d 946 (1996). On appeal, we will only consider the evidence favorable to the appellee, together with all its reasonable inferences. St. Edward Mercy Medical Ctr. v. Ellison, supra.

Appellees contended below that the damage to their property was caused by hail, a named peril in the insurance policy. Appellant’s position was that no hail had fallen during the storm and that appellees’ loss was caused by ice and snow. Appellant presented the testimony of Dr. John Hehr, a professor at the University of Arkansas and the State Climatologist. Dr. Hehr, relying on data from the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, and from cooperative observers from, among other places, the town of Gravette in Benton County, told the jury that an arctic front passed through Tulsa, Oklahoma, at approximately 8:00 p.m., on March 3, and through Fayetteville, Arkansas, at about 12:00 midnight. At Gravette, which is seven to ten minutes from appellees’ farm, the cooperative observer measured 2.6 inches of ice on March 4, 3.5 inches of additional ice and snow on March 5, and 8.2 inches of snow after that time. Using these figures, Dr. Hehr estimated that the weight of the accumulation on each of appellees’ poultry houses would have been 44.6 tons on March 41, 80.6 tons on March 5, and 88.2 tons on March 6. He said he would call the storm an ice storm with a progression of freezing rain to sleet to snow. He noted that there were no reports of hail with the storm. On cross-examination, Dr. Hehr testified that it would have been possible for the ice to destroy appellees’ buildings before the snow began. He had already testified that ice weighed more than snow. Further, he acknowledged that precipitation is called hail when it exceeds five millimeters in size. However, he maintained that no hail had fallen during this storm.

According to appellees, the storm began sooner than what was testified to by Dr. Hehr. Charles Jones testified that ice pellets began to fall at his farm on the afternoon of Friday, March 3. The ice fell all that night and the next day. On Sunday morning, March 5, he and Mrs. Jones went to check on the cattle in their barn and found that the barn had collapsed. One cow was killed. Mrs. Jones was dispatched to one of the poultry houses to retrieve some equipment. When she arrived, she heard popping noises and saw that the rafters were breaking. She decided that it would be unsafe to go inside. Mr. Jones then looked at the three poultry houses and determined that they were destroyed. Nearly all the rafters were broken, and the houses looked as if they would fall down at any time. According to Jones, the houses were beyond repair, and the equipment inside the houses was damaged as well. These observations took place before the snow started to fall at noon on Sunday.

Jones testified further that the precipitation that was falling was ice pellets, round in shape, and about the size of an eraser on a No. 2 pencil. Being a mechanic and familiar with the use of calipers, Jones estimated the size of the pellets at about six millimeters. Mrs.

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Home Mutual Fire Insurance v. Jones, 977 S.W.2d 12, 63 Ark. App. 221, 1998 Ark. App. LEXIS 685 (Ark. Ct. App. 1998).

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