Lasater v. Equitable Fire & Marine Insurance Co.

483 S.W.2d 740, 1971 Tenn. LEXIS 340
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMarch 26, 1971
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 483 S.W.2d 740 (Lasater v. Equitable Fire & Marine Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lasater v. Equitable Fire & Marine Insurance Co., 483 S.W.2d 740, 1971 Tenn. LEXIS 340 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

OPINION

SHRIVER, Judge.

THE CASE

This is an appeal from a decree of the Chancellor sustaining a motion to dismiss the original bill, made at the conclusion of complainants’ proof. The bill was filed to recover under a homeowner’s policy of insurance which was issued to Katie M. Las-ater, covering the home in which she lived and the contents thereof, her home having been totally destroyed by fire on January 30, 1968.

Defendant denied liability on the ground that the property covered by the policy in question was another house formerly owned by Katie M. Lasater and which was not destroyed by fire.

From the decree dismissing complainants’ bill, an appeal to this Court was duly perfected and assignments of error filed.

THE FACTS

The Original Bill avers, and the record shows, that Katie M. Lasater died in Davidson County, Tennessee, on January 6, 1968 and the complainants, who are her children, took by Will all of her real and personal property.

It is further averred that, on October 11, 1966, Katie M. Lasater purchased from Frank Jenkins and wife a tract of land in Davidson County, described as “being situated on Cane Ridge Road on the easterly boundary of the McMorrough property”. A copy of the deed of conveyance is made Exhibit I to the bill. Approximately two months later, Katie M. Lasater conveyed a part of this tract to J. O. Cramer and wife by deed, a copy of which is made Exhibit II to the bill.

[742]*742Situated on the aforesaid tract were two houses, one being of brick veneer construction and the other of frame construction. The brick veneer house was the one sold to J. O. Cramer and wife, while Katie M. Lasater resided in the frame residence from the time she purchased same until her death.

The two residences were insured by the owners and the insurance was transferred to Katie M. Lasater when she purchased said property. The insurance expired on January 7, 1966 and a new three year “Home Owners Policy” No. 47 47 23 was issued, effective on that date, to Katie M. Lasater by the defendant, Equitable Fire and Marine Insurance Company, a copy of said policy being attached to the bill as Exhibit III.

According to the face of this policy, it insures the dwelling of Katie M. Lasater located on “Antioch Pike (formerly Cane Ridge Road) on Eastern Boundary of McMorrough Property, of record in Book 1191, Page 25, R.O.D.C., Antioch, Tennessee.” The dwelling is further described as follows:

“The described dwelling of Frame (1 family) construction is occupied by not more than two families and not more than two roomers or boarders per family.”

The coverage provided for said dwelling was $17,500.00; for appurtenant private structures $1,750.00; for unscheduled personal property $7,000.00; and for additional living expense $1,750.00.

Section II of the policy provides coverage for personal liability (bodily injury and property damage) $25,000.00; personal medical payments $500.00; and physical damage to property of others $250.00.

On January 30, 1968, a few weeks after the death of Katie M. Lasater, the frame house in which she had lived until the time of her death, and its contents, were destroyed by fire. A claim was duly filed with the defendant Insurance Company which denied coverage of the house that was destroyed, insisting that the policy which was in force covered the brick veneer house that had formerly belonged to Katie M. Lasater and did not cover the frame house in which she lived until her death.

The Answer of defendant admits that when Katie M. Lasater purchased the property in question, the two residences were insured and the policies transferred to her.

It is averred, and the record shows, that the frame dwelling, which was subsequently destroyed by fire, was insured for $3,000.00 under the policy which was transferred to the purchaser, and when this policy expired on June 17, 1965, the coverage was renewed by the defendant Insurance Company for one year and the policy mailed to the Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association which held a mortgage on the property. It is further shown that, at the time Katie M. Lasater acquired the property, the policy of insurance covering the brick veneer dwelling was transferred to the purchaser. It also had a mortgage clause payable to Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association and, when this policy expired on January 7, 1966, it was renewed for the above amount, in addition to $7,000.00 for personal property and $1,750.-00 on appurtenant structures. It is shown that the premiums on this policy were paid through an escrow account at the Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association. It is significant that, when this policy was renewed, an additional premium endorsement was attached to it by the defendant Insurance Company, covering liability for a one-family dwelling located on the east side of Cane Ridge Road at Railroad, Antioch, Tennessee, (see Exhibit III to the Original Bill). It is further to be noted that this is the same description that was in the original policy covering the small frame house.

When Mrs. Katie M. Lasater sold the brick veneer house and paid off that por[743]*743tion of the mortgage which covered it, Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association, by mistake, returned Policy G-99-25-71, which policy covered the small frame house, to the insurance agent who originally sold both policies. Thereafter, on January 7, 1966, the agent, relying on the actions and information received from Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association, renewed the policy covering the large house, although that house no longer belonged to Mrs. Lasater.

The defendant insists that Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association was acting as agent for Katie M. Lasater and that she is, therefore, bound by the mistake made by the Savings and Loan Association.

In this connection it should be noted that, in the course of the trial, when Mr. Marshall Griffith, Manager of the Customer Service Department of Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association, was questioned by counsel for complainants, it was stipulated by counsel for defendant that Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association did not act as insurance agent for Mrs. Lasater, but that it acted as her agent only in paying the premiums out of an escrow fund in its hands. Counsel for defendant specifically stated: “We’ll stipulate that they did not act as insurance agent for this lady.”

It is averred in the Answer that Exhibit III to the Original Bill is not a true copy of the original policy issued and that the true description in the policy is:

“The described dwelling of B-V (1 family) construction is occupied by not more than two families and not more than two roomers or boarders per family.”

And it is averred that “B-V” is the commonly accepted abbreviation for “brick veneer”.

It is stated in the Answer that the small house of frame construction, the walls of which had been covered with asbestos shingles, was destroyed by fire, and that the defendant was not notified that Katie M. Lasater had sold the large dwelling, and that the policy covering the brick veneer dwelling was kept in force through mistake of “her agent, Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association”.

The Answer concludes as follows:

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483 S.W.2d 740, 1971 Tenn. LEXIS 340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lasater-v-equitable-fire-marine-insurance-co-tennctapp-1971.