Insurance Department v. Sneyd

88 Pa. D. & C. 97, 1953 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 20
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County
DecidedDecember 14, 1953
DocketCommonwealth docket, 1953, no. 82
StatusPublished

This text of 88 Pa. D. & C. 97 (Insurance Department v. Sneyd) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Insurance Department v. Sneyd, 88 Pa. D. & C. 97, 1953 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 20 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1953).

Opinion

Sohn, J.,

— This case comes before the court as an appeal from the adjudication of Artemas C. Leslie, Insurance Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, dated May 6, 1953, imposing a penalty of $50 upon respondent, Earle C. Sneyd, a licensed insurance agent and broker, after a hearing, under the authority of section 639 of the Insurance Department Act of May 17,1921, P. L. 789, as last amended by the Act of May 9, 1949, P. L. 951, 40 PS §279.

The records of the Insurance Department show that respondent, Earle C. Sneyd, is at the present time licensed as an agent for the following companies: Philadelphia Life Insurance Company, Bankers Security Life Insurance Society, the Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford, Conn.; Universal Insurance Company, Insurance Company of North America, Union Insurance Society of Canton, Limited. Appellant also holds broker’s license no. 6802 for fire and casualty authorities.

[99]*99On July 21,. 1952, a letter was addressed to Earle C. Sneyd, trading as Sneyd Underwriters Company, and personally served upon respondent, advising him that a hearing was fixed for Wednesday, August 6, 1952, at 10 a.m. in Room 200 City Centre Building, 121 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, to consider his conduct as agent and broker. In this letter he was generally charged with violation of section 639 of the Insurance Department Act of 1921, as amended, in that he had evidenced such conduct as would disqualify him as an agent or as a broker from initial issuance of a license and that he was unworthy of a license. He was particularly advised in the letter that certain allegations concerning his conduct would be considered at the hearing. These allegations were set forth in eight numbered paragraphs and charged him with failure to note on a change of car endorsement an encumbrance on the car to be insured and this neglect on his part was the basis of the refusal of payment of a subsequent claim by the insurance company.

The hearing was continued from time to time but was finally held on Wednesday, December 17, 1952, at 10 a.m. at the place mentioned in the original notice. The hearing was conducted by the hearing officer for the department and the department was represented by counsel. Respondent appeared in person, accompanied by his attorneys. The insured likewise appeared in person and with his counsel. The testimony was taken down stenographically and later transcribed. The hearing officer afforded counsel for respondent an opportunity to submit briefs; this, however, was declined. A copy of the hearing officer’s letter and a copy of the reply thereto are attached to the adjudication and record.

The relevant facts appear in the adjudication as follows:

[100]*1001. That respondent, Earle C. Sneyd, holds licenses as insurance agent and as insuranca broker under the Insurance Commissioner.

2. That as agent of the Commonwealth Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (hereinafter referred to as Commonwealth Mutual), he accepted an application from Pennsylvania Truck Sales Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Truck Sales Corp.) and delivered an automobile physical damage policy no. 19190 of the Commonwealth Mutual dated December 19, 1951, affording comprehensive coverage only on a certain 1942 model Lincoln sedan automobile written to the Truck Sales Corp. as owner and lessor and to William Casper Kobierowski as purchaser and lessee, on which policy there was noted an encumbrance of $242.74 in favor of the Truck Sales Corp.

3. That thereafter on or about January 16, 1952, the insurance so afforded was transferred to a 1947 Chevrolet club coupe and collision coverage added by endorsement signed by respondent as agent of the Commonwealth Mutual to be affixed to the policy no. 19190 and on which endorsement was noted an encumbrance of $388.64.

4. That thereafter on or about April 16, 1952, Kobierowski paid off the encumbrance and received from the Truck Sales Corp. the aforementioned insurance policy and endorsement and thereafter Truck Sales Corp. had no right, title or interest in the automobile or the insurance thereon.

5. That at or about that time Kobierowski purchased a 1950 model 2-door sedan Chevrolet from Willard Chevrolet Company, subject to an encumbrance of that company.

6. That on or about April 16, 1952, Kobierowski called the business office of respondent and requested that the insurance then in force under policy no. 19190 of the Commonwealth Mutual be transferred to cover [101]*101a 1950 Chevrolet 2-door sedan, serial no. 14HKB35695, purchased April 8, 1952, as a used car at a cost of $1,500, and that there was an encumbrance in favor of Willard Chevrolet Company which should be notified when the transfer of insurance had been effected.

7. That respondent thereupon undertook to transfer the insurance to cover the 1950 Chevrolet 2-door sedan automobile and issued as agent of the Commonwealth Mutual a change of car endorsement dated April 16, 1952 to be attached to policy no. 19190 of that company.

8. That respondent failed and neglected to note on the endorsement the encumbrance of Willard Chevrolet Company or any encumbrance.

9. That respondent failed and neglected to send the endorsement or a copy thereof to Kobierowski or to Willard Chevrolet Company.

10. That respondent thoughtlessly and erroneously sent the endorsement to Truck Sales Corp. although that company was not named as encumbrancer thereon and no encumbrance was noted.

11. That thereafter in May 1952 the Commonwealth Mutual refused to pay a claim under the policy and endorsements for the reason that there was an encumbrance on the automobile in favor of the Willard Chevrolet Company which was not specifically declared and described in the policy, in violation of paragraph (b) of section IX of the policy.

12. That the failure of respondent to note on the change of car endorsement the encumbrance of the Willard Chevrolet Company, or any encumbrance in any amount, and its delivery to Truck Sales Corp. was contrary to good underwriting and business practices and injured the insured.

Appellant has filed 12 separate exceptions to the adjudication of the Insurance Commissioner and we will discuss them in the order in which they have been raised, to wit:

[102]*102“1. The Insurance Commissioner is not authorized to delegate any hearing to any deputy commissioner or other person.”

With respect to this exception, it is only necessary to point out that the Administrative Code of April 9, 1929, P. L. 177, as amended, recognizes the impracticability of any such requirement, providing in section 206 thereof (71 PS §66) that:

“Each administrative department shall have as its head an officer who shall, either personally, by deputy, or by the duly authorized agent or employe of the department, and subject at all times to the provisions of this act, exercise the powers and perform the duties by law vested in and imposed upon the department.” (Italics supplied).

Subsection (a) of this section specifies the officers who shall be the heads of the various administrative departments of the Commonwealth and, among them, designates the Insurance Commissioner as the head of the Insurance Department. It would be rather astounding for us to sustain this exception in the face of such plain, statutory language.

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Bluebook (online)
88 Pa. D. & C. 97, 1953 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/insurance-department-v-sneyd-pactcompldauphi-1953.