Jewtraw v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.

284 A.D. 312, 131 N.Y.S.2d 745, 1954 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3393
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJune 18, 1954
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 284 A.D. 312 (Jewtraw v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jewtraw v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., 284 A.D. 312, 131 N.Y.S.2d 745, 1954 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3393 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1954).

Opinions

Bergan, J.

This case has had a long course before the court at Trial and Special Term and on appeal, induced in part by the differing positions which the litigants found it needful to take in the protection of their several interests as the case passed from one stage to another in its procedural evolution. Having a record before us now in a more fully rounded form kh an heretofore, we reach for answers that may go toward solving the litigation with finality.

The plaintiff Jewtraw and the defendant Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company’s assured William E. Davis both live at Saranac Lake. They are neighbors and friends. On February [314]*3143, 1949, Davis made a trip in Ms truck to Ottawa, Canada, to get some costumes for a Lake Placid winter carnival.

It must be deemed to have been found that Davis asked plaintiff Jewtraw to accompany him, to “ go along and help ” and agreed to pay Jewtraw’s expenses. Davis worked as a refrigerator repairman and getting the costumes for the carnival was no part of his work or business. He understood, however, that he was to be paid for the trip but had not actually been paid at the time of trial.

An accident happened in the Province of Ontario in which Jewtraw was injured. The Highway Traffic Act of Ontario (Ontario Eev. Stat., 1937, ch. 288, § 47, subd. 2) which was deemed applicable to the accident provided for ‘ ‘ non-liability ’ ’ by the owner of a motor vehicle for negligence to a “ gratuitous passenger ”. Jewtraw sued Davis in the New York Supreme Court for damages for injuries due to negligence. To avoid the effect of the Ontario guest statute he pleaded that he had been “ expressly or impliedly engaged and employed by the defendant to accompany him, in said automobile truck ” for the purpose of obtaining and taking the costumes to Lake Placid.

The liability policy which defendant insurance company had written on Davis’ truck contains enumerated exclusions. One is of primary importance in this litigation and is set forth as “ exclusion (d) ” which provides that the policy did not apply to injury “ of any employee of the Insured while engaged in the employment, other than domestic, of the Insured or in domestic employment if benefits therefor are either payable or required to be provided under any workmen’s compensation law”. “Exclusion (e) ” provides that the policy does not apply ‘ ‘ to any obligation for which the Insured or any company as his insurer may be held liable under any workmen’s compensation law ”.

The insurance company under certain specific requirements of its policy provided counsel for Davis who interposed an answer in the action of Jewtraw denying the allegations of negligence and denying the employment relationship, pleading among other things that jplaintiff was “ riding as a gratuitous passenger ” and alleging the effect of the Ontario statute as avoiding Davis ’ liability for negligence to such a passenger.

A short time before the trial of the negligence action the insurance company wrote Davis calling attention to the claim being made by Jewtraw that he was in the employ of Davis and stating that ‘ ‘ if this fact is established in trial and judgment is rendered on that fact ” there “ is no coverage under * * * [315]*315your policy ”. The case was submitted to the jury with a distinct instruction from the Judge that unless it were found that the relationship of employer and employee existed between Davis and Jewtraw at the time of the accident there could be no recovery. The jury returned a general verdict for $10,000 for Jewtraw.

Upon appeal here the judgment entered on the verdict was affirmed because the court was of opinion the record was sufficient to create an issue of fact on the employer-employee relation of the parties. (Jewtraw v. Davis, 277 App. Div. 918.) The attorney for the insurance company who prosecuted the appeal for Davis argued that on the facts shown in the record the relationship was too casual to have matured into such a master and servant status as to avoid the effect of the Ontario guest statute.

This court was told that the facts on the trial showed no element of dominance and serviency between Davis and Jewtraw, or any true consideration for services rendered by the purported employee; and it was contended by the appellant that this was “ the ordinary relationship of two friends, both riding to the City of Ottawa for the first time, one assisting the other because of their long-standing, friendly social relationship and the fact they were practically neighbors ”. (Appellant’s Brief, p. 28 in Jewtraw v. Davis, 277 App. Div. 918.)

The appellant’s brief on that appeal also advanced the argument that the relationship was not master and servant, but was a voluntary rendition of services or a favor to be rewarded by a gratuity ”, language which almost exactly took up the words quoted by Hubbs, J., in Ferro v. Sinsheimer Estate (256 N. Y. 398, 402) to the effect that “ employment ” in the sense in which the word was understood both at common law and in workmen’s compensation statutes is not met by “ a mere casual voluntary rendition of a slight service or favor rewarded by a gratuity ”. This language, in turn, had its origin in a dissent in this court in Matter of Mandatto v. Hudson Shoring Co. (190 App. Div. 71).

Jewtraw’s brief on that appeal, on the other hand, was a full-blown argument for the existence of a conventional employment relation. He argued that The jury necessarily found that the relationship of master and servant existed and this finding is abundantly supported by the evidence ”. (P. 8.) He added that the “ contract of service was conclusively established by undisputed proof of an offer, acceptance and consideration ” and plaintiff had done the work expected of him ” and defend[316]*316ant “ had paid the consideration he agreed to pay ”. (P. 9.)

Cases under guest statutes were cited in support of Jewtraw’s contention. One was Ganzhorn v. Reep (234 Iowa 495). It was concluded by Jewtraw on this point that his “ status as employee ” and Davis’ “ control as employer were conclusively established by defendant’s statement that there was work ’ to do and his request that the plaintiff go along to ‘ help ’ ’ ’.

An additional point argued by the appellant Davis on that appeal was that in the light of the charge of the court to the jury employment was necessarily to be inferred from the verdict and that plaintiff thereupon came within the operation of the New York Workmen’s Compensation Law. This was based on a showing that the “ employment ” began and ended with the journey in New York. This court was of opinion in its decision of affirmance that this question having been raised for the first time on appeal was not then available (p. 919).

The insurance company refused to pay the judgment against its assured Davis, whereupon Jewtraw, as judgment creditor succeeding to the rights of the assured, instituted this action under Insurance Law (§ 167, subd. 1, par. [b]) to recover the amount of the judgment against the defendant as the insurance carrier of Davis. Jewtraw in the complaint in this action pleaded, merely, that he was “ riding as a passenger ” in the Davis truck when the Ontario accident occurred.

The insurance company denied this allegation.

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Bluebook (online)
284 A.D. 312, 131 N.Y.S.2d 745, 1954 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jewtraw-v-hartford-accident-indemnity-co-nyappdiv-1954.