Inabnet v. Pan American Life Insurance Co.

267 So. 2d 774, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 5796
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 12, 1972
DocketNo. 11902
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 267 So. 2d 774 (Inabnet v. Pan American Life Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Inabnet v. Pan American Life Insurance Co., 267 So. 2d 774, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 5796 (La. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

HALL, Judge.

This appeal is from a judgment of the district court, in accordance with a jury verdict, awarding the sum of $750,000 to plaintiff-appellee, William Inabnet, against defendant-appellant, Pan American Life Insurance Company, for alleged breach and wrongful termination by defendant of the agency and general agency contracts between plaintiff and defendant.

On April 27, 1961, Pan American entered into an agent’s contract and a general agent’s contract with Inabnet, the general agent’s contract being a supplement to and generally connected with the agent’s contract. Both agreements were effective as of May 1, 1961. A later general agent’s contract was entered into between the parties under date of March 1, 1964, replacing the earlier general agent’s contract and being also supplementary to the original agent’s contract.

After May, 1961, plaintiff continued as a general agent for defendant, operating a general agency in Monroe until the summer of 1969. On July 31, 1969, a vice president of defendant verbally advised plaintiff that the agency contracts were being terminated by the company effective August 1. The company gave plaintiff written notice of termination of the agency contracts by letter dated August 4, 1969, which letter was received by plaintiff on or about August 5 or 6, 1969. Plaintiff brought suit against defendant alleging that as a result of defendant’s breach of contract, wrongful termination of the agency relationship and the arbitrary and capricious actions of defendant in terminating the relationship, plaintiff suffered damages in the total amount of $2,210,000 consisting of embarrassment and humiliation, loss of business reputation in the community, loss of profits from general agency including overriding, group, term, regular term, conversion, commissions and service fees, loss of retirement benefits and advertising expenses. Defendant answered denying that the contracts were breached or wrongfully terminated and reconvened against plaintiff for the sum of $19,557 allegedly due for advances made to plaintiff under development allowance expense agreements entered into between the parties.

After trial before the jury, special verdicts or interrogatories were submitted to the jury and answered as follows:

"Interrogatories to the Jury
“1. Do you find from all the evidence in this case that Pan-American Insurance Company was justified in terminating its agency relationship [776]*776with William Inabnet on August 1, 1969?
“Answer:- Yes or No No
“Then only if your answer to the first interrogatory is 'no’, answer the next interrogatory:
“2. Did William Inabnet sustain any damages as a result of Pan-American’s termination?
“Answer: Yes Yes or-No
“Then only if your answer to' the second interrogatory is 'Yes’, answer the next interrogatory:
“3. What is the dollar value of the damages sustained by William Inabnet? “$_750,000_”

The principal errors in the jury verdict and the judgment on which it is based specified by defendant on appeal, can be summarized as follows:

(1) Failing to find that Pan American Life Insurance Company had the unrestricted right to terminate the agency agreements under specific written provisions therefor contained in the contracts.
(2) In finding that defendant wrongfully terminated the agency agreements and in refusing to recognize that the termination was legal, valid and in keeping with the provisions set forth in the written agreements between the parties.
(3) In finding that plaintiff was damaged as a result of his termination by defendant and in failing to find that defendant had the right to terminate the contracts without subjecting itself to any claim for breach of contract.
(4) In finding that plaintiff was damaged to the extent of $750,000'.
(5) In failing to find that plaintiff, if he was, in fact, entitled to any damages at all, was entitled only to such damages as were sustained by him between the date of verbal termination of the agency contracts and the date on which the contracts were terminated by written notice.
(6)In failing to find that defendant was entitled to recover the sum of $19,-557 for amounts advanced by it to plaintiff.

The agency contracts between plaintiff and defendant specifically provide for termination thereof by either party thereto, with or without cause, upon the giving of written notice by one party to the other. The specific wording of this particular clause in the agent’s contract reads as follows :

“ARTICLE VII “TERMINATION
“a) This contract may be terminated under any one of the following conditions:
“1. By either party with or without cause upon giving written notice to the other. Such notice mailed by the Company to the last known address of the Agent shall be deemed to be sufficient notice.”

The specific wording of this particular clause in the general agent’s contract reads as follows :

“TERMINATION
“This supplemental contract may be terminated:
“1. By either party with or without cause upon giving written notice to the other. Such notice mailed by the Company to the last known address of the General Agent shall be deemed to be sufficient notice.”

The validity of such a provision for termination by either party, with or without cause, has been upheld under Louisiana law, by both state and federal courts. Dorsey v. State Farm Insurance Company, [777]*777294 F.2d 678 (5th Cir. 1961)Martin-Parry Corp. v. New Orleans Fire Detection Service, 221 La. 677, 60 So.2d 83 (1952); Wright v. Southwestern Life Insurance Company, No. 14562 (U.S.D.Ct., W.D.La., August, 1972). The same result has been reached by state and federal decisions applying the law of other states. Shain v. Washington National Insurance Company, 308 F.2d 611, 96 A.L.R.2d 265 (8th Cir. 1962); Case v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 294 F.2d 676 (5th Cir. 1961); Raynor v. Burroughs Corporation, 294 F.Supp. 238 (E.D.Va.1968); Buska v. Central Life Assurance Company, 32 Wis.2d 534, 145 N.W.2d 721 (1966). Under an unrestricted reservation of the right to cancel, an agency contract may be canceled at any time without subjecting the party canceling it to any claim for breach of contract. The parties to these agreements, Inabnet and Pan American, contracted between themselves in writing. As between the parties, these written agreements have the effect of law. LSA — Civil Code Article 1901.

It follows then that the finding of the jury that Pan American was not justified in terminating the agency contract with Inabnet is manifestly erroneous as a matter of law.

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Bluebook (online)
267 So. 2d 774, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 5796, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/inabnet-v-pan-american-life-insurance-co-lactapp-1972.