Kindred v. Boalbey

391 N.E.2d 236, 73 Ill. App. 3d 37, 29 Ill. Dec. 77, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2736
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 15, 1979
Docket78-278, 78-369 cons.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 391 N.E.2d 236 (Kindred v. Boalbey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kindred v. Boalbey, 391 N.E.2d 236, 73 Ill. App. 3d 37, 29 Ill. Dec. 77, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2736 (Ill. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE BARRY

delivered the opinion of the court:

In April of 1969, the plaintiff, Frances L. Kindred, and her now deceased husband (hereafter designated “plaintiff”) entered into an installment contract (entitled agreement for warranty deed) with the defendant, Richard M. Boalbey (who has represented himself throughout these proceedings), for the sale of a parcel of residential real estate, commonly known as 512 Thirty-third Street, Rock Island, Illinois. The purchase price was *17,500, and except for a *2,000 downpayment, was payable in monthly installments with interest at the rate of 6% per annum until the balance was paid in full. Boalbey immediately entered into possession of the premises, and the parties operated under the terms of the contract without dispute until December 24, 1976. On that date the residence located on the real estate was damaged by fire. The installment contract, one of the preprinted forms of real estate installment sale contracts in current use, contained a provision which required the vendee Boalbey to keep the buildings on the property insured against loss by fire. That clause provided in pertinent part the requirement that Boalbey was “(5) to keep all buildings at any time on said premises insured against loss by fire and extended coverage, in companies to be approved by said first party [William E. Kindred, now deceased, and Frances L. Kindred] to the full insurable value thereof, either written in their favor, or with suitable loss clauses attached making the loss, if any, payable to the first party as their interests may appear, and deliver all such policies and renewals thereof to the said first party.” Pursuant to the terms of this agreement the defendant Boalbey obtained a suitable insurance policy from Mid-America Fire and Marine Insurance Company which named the plaintiff as loss payee. Following the fire on December 24, 1976, Boalbey submitted proof of loss to the named insurance company and they in turn forwarded a check in the amount of *15,998 made out in both the names of the plaintiff and defendant as payees. The balance due on the real estate installment sale contract at that time was *12,000.61, according to the finding of the trial court in an order dated April 20,1978. The plaintiff demanded the balance due on the purchase price of the real estate as a condition for signing the draft for the insurance proceeds. When defendant declined a dispute arose as to who was entitled to the insurance proceeds, and ultimately plaintiff instituted the lawsuit involved in case No. 78-278. The plaintiffs complaint sought relief in the form of a declaratory judgment finding that she was entitled to the balance due on the installment contract and an order directing the Mid-America Fire and Marine Insurance Company to pay over to her that amount from the insurance proceeds and her costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of defendant Boalbey and denied the plaintiff the relief she sought. The trial court concluded that the defendant was entitled to the insurance proceeds of *15,998 and ordered the proceeds paid to the Rock Island Circuit Clerk. The plaintiff filed a notice of appeal from the summary judgment against her in case No. 78-278.

Cause No. 78-369 on appeal involves the same factual situation between the same parties. In the interest of doing complete equity between the litigants and as a matter of judicial expediency we have consolidated the cases, Nos. 78-278 and 78-369, for decision. Case No. 78-369 was a forcible entry and detainer action initiated by the same plaintiff to regain possession of the premises from defendant Boalbey following a declaration of forfeiture when Boalbey ceased making the monthly payments on the installment contract after February 15, 1977, and generally because Boalbey had violated the "contract provision against permitting the premises to waste. To some degree the evidence is that defendant’s default on the installment payments may be said to proximately have resulted from the underlying dispute over the fire insurance proceeds and his attempts at repairing the fire damage. The plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, supported by affidavit, was granted and defendant Boalbey appealed.

We will first consider the problem presented to us in case No. 78-278, to-wit: Which of the parties was entitled to the proceeds of the fire insurance policy as a matter of law. In determining who is rightfully entitled to the fire insurance proceeds we must examine the written language of the installment sale contract to determine the intention of the parties as well as the recognized principle of equitable conversion. Under the doctrine of equitable conversion, once a valid enforceable contract has been entered into, the vendee becomes the equitable owner of the real estate and only hold the purchase money as trustee for the vendor. At the same time the vendor becomes the trustee of the legal title to the real estate for the vendee with a lien on the land as security for the purchase money. (Shay v. Penrose (1962), 25 Ill. 2d 447, 185 N.E.2d 218.) In this case (No. 78-278) both litigants readily admit the existence of the installment real estate sale contract and only dispute the right of each party to the insurance proceeds. Accordingly, we believe equitable conversion is applicable and that the defendant Boalbey is the equitable owner of the real estate while holding the purchase money, including the fire insurance proceeds, as trustee for the plaintiff. We find support for our position in White v. United States Fidelity & Casualty Co. (1974), 21 Ill. App. 3d 588, 316 N.E.2d 131, where a similar dispute arose concerning proceeds from insurance in an installment land sale situation with similar contract language. The court there very clearly stated, “[a]s a general proposition it seems well established that where the purchaser under an installment contract for the sale of realty agrees to insure the property against loss for the benefit of the seller, the seller is entitled to the proceeds of the insurance at least to the extent of his interest in the property.” (White v. United States Fidelity & Casualty Co. (1974), 21 Ill. App. 3d 588, 594, 316 N.E.2d 131, 136.) We conclude that a similar interpretation of the present installment land sale contract is required.

The residence occupied by Boalbey is represented, as to the seller’s security interest therein, by the insurance proceeds from the fire loss. In similar cases, where the buildings on realty sold pursuant to installment contract were completely destroyed, the insurance proceeds were required to be paid in total to the vendor. (See Phoenix Insurance Co. v. Mitchell (1873), 67 Ill. 43; Grange Mill Co. v. Western Assurance Co. (1886), 118 Ill. 396, 9 N.E. 274; and Marbach v. Gnadl (1966), 73 Ill. App. 2d 303, 219 N.E.2d 572.) Several out-of-State authorities are persuasive on the same issue before us. (Raplee v. Piper (1957), 3 N.Y.2d 179, 164 N.Y.S.2d 732, 143 N.E.2d 919, and Dysart v. Colonial Fire Underwriters (1927), 142 Wash. 601, 254 P.

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Bluebook (online)
391 N.E.2d 236, 73 Ill. App. 3d 37, 29 Ill. Dec. 77, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2736, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kindred-v-boalbey-illappct-1979.