Implement Dealers Mutual Insurance Co. v. Cox

376 S.W.2d 384, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 1989
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 27, 1964
Docket14302
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 376 S.W.2d 384 (Implement Dealers Mutual Insurance Co. v. Cox) 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
Implement Dealers Mutual Insurance Co. v. Cox, 376 S.W.2d 384, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 1989 (Tex. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinion

WERLEIN, Justice.

This suit was brought by appellees upon an insurance policy issued by Implement Dealers Mutual Insurance Company in the sum of $8,000.00, to recover for damage to their home in Texas City resulting from Hurricane “Carla” on or about September 11, 1961. From a judgment in the sum of $2,161.25 entered in favor of appellees based upon the jury verdict, appellant has perfected its appeal.

To Special Issue No. 1 the jury found that the damage done to the residence of appellee Cox was directly due to the winds of Hurricane Carla. Appellant contends that such finding by the jury is not supported by any evidence and is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. We have read the entire statement of facts and find that there is ample evidence supporting the jury’s finding, even though we should wholly disregard the testimony of appellee Cox with respect to damages. The finding of the jury is not against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. In Re King’s Estate, 1951, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660.

Appellant asserts that such finding is based largely upon perjured testimony given by appellee Cox. We fail to find in the record evidence which would warrant a finding of perjured testimony on the part of Mr. Cox although there are some apparent conflicts in his testimony. Appellant elicited from appellee Cox that its insurance adjuster took a picture of ap-pellees’ home on October 6, 1961, more than three weeks after Carla, and at such time the T. V. antenna on appellees’ house was standing erect, whereas the picture introduced by appellees in evidence, taken at a yet later date, showed the antenna was down and lying on the roof of the house. Appellee Cox testified the antenna was damaged and he had to get a new one installed.

Appellant inquired why and how the October 6, 1961 picture, which was taken after Carla, showed the antenna standing erect and the subsequent picture introduced by appellees showed the antenna down. Appellee could not explain the discrepancy. He did testify unequivocally that neither he nor his family pulled the antenna down, and that he didn’t know how it got down. His statement seems logical since if appellee Cox were undertaking to show that Carla had blown down the antenna, it does not seem likely that he would have let it remain erect for everyone to see for nearly a month after Carla.

Moreover, we do not find in the record that Cox ever testified definitely that Carla blew over the antenna. He did testify that Carla damaged it. The evidence shows that considerable damage was done to the roof of appellees’ home and that repairs were made some time after appellees’ pictures were taken. Cox also testified that his new antenna had been installed by Bay Radio. It probably would have been an easy matter for appellant to disprove Cox’s testimony, if it was false, by calling Bay Radio. This was not done. Cox could not remember dates, and much of his testimony was indefinite as to time. This is not too difficult to understand, however, since the trial was about one and a half years after the damage by Carla. On cross-examination Cox was asked:

“Q Am I correct then in assuming that you have no explanation as to why the earlier picture shows the antenna erect and the later picture shows the antenna down?
“A No more than I know that it was blown down or torn down in some way that I had nothing to do with, and I had to have another antenna put up.”

The evidence shows that the policy excluded recovery for damage to “radio *386 or television towers and antennas.” The purpose of the appellant’s examination was to try to establish that Cox was lying. The jury heard all the testimony and was in a better position to pass upon the truth or falsity of Cox’s testimony and his credibility than is this Court. The law is well settled that jurors may accept some parts of a witness’s testimony and reject other parts, when the testimony is inconsistent, contradictory, contrary to physical facts, or such as to create a doubt as to its truthfulness, or because of the interest of the witness. Aetna Ins. Co. v. English, Tex.Civ.App. 1947, 204 S.W.2d 850, and authorities cited; 45 Tex.Jur., p. 281, Witnesses, Sec. 345; 14 Baylor Law Review, pp. 371-372.

The jury found in answer to Special Issues Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, that the actual cash value of the Cox residence immediately before Carla was $8,000.00, and immediately after, was $5,000.00. Appellant complains of Issue No. 3 on the ground that it fails to limit the jury to insured perils and fails to prohibit the jury from considering damage occurring as a result of a combination of causes or perils some of which might not be insured against under the policy. The jury had already found, in answer to Special Issue No. 1, that the damage, if any, done to appellees’ residence was directly due to the winds of Hurricane Carla.

It is our view that the court did not err in submitting Special Issues Nos. 2 and 3 as was done. The law is well settled in Texas that the measure of damages under an insurance contract insuring a dwelling, when the loss is not total, is the difference between the value of the property immediately before and immediately after the occurrence of the loss and damage, within the amount of the policy. German Ins. Co. v. Everett, 1898, 18 Tex.Civ.App. 514, 46 S.W. 95, writ den.; St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. McRae, Tex.Civ.App., 98 S.W.2d 363; Millers Mutual Fire Ins. Co. of Texas v. Eggleston, Tex.Civ.App.1962, 357 S.W.2d 766.

It will be noted that while the difference in the value of the property immediately before and immediately after Carla was found to be $3,000.00, the court entered judgment in favor of appellees in the sum of only $2,161.25. This was because in answer to Special Issue No. 4, which inquired as to the reasonable cost of repairing the damage sustained as a direct result of Carla, taking into consideration only such damage sustained as a direct result of wind, and damage to the interior of the dwelling from rain, whether wind driven or not, coming through an opening or openings made by the wind in its walls or roof and caused immediately by rain entering the building through such opening or openings, the jury found $2,261.25. From this amount the court deducted $100.-00 because of the $100.00 Deductible Clause in the policy. The policy contains the further limitation that the company’s liability shall not exceed “the amount it would cost to repair or replace the building with material of like kind and quality within a reasonable time after the loss * * * ”

Appellant complains of Special Issue No. 4 inquiring about the cost of repair of the Cox residence for the reason that it did not limit the jury to a consideration of the proper contract limitation of liability and did not instruct the jury to make a reasonable allowance for depreciation in place of repair with new materials. The policy provides:

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376 S.W.2d 384, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 1989, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/implement-dealers-mutual-insurance-co-v-cox-texapp-1964.