Lloyds Cas. Insurer v. Shafer

267 S.W.2d 588, 1954 Tex. App. LEXIS 2504
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 21, 1954
DocketNo. 10218
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 267 S.W.2d 588 (Lloyds Cas. Insurer v. Shafer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lloyds Cas. Insurer v. Shafer, 267 S.W.2d 588, 1954 Tex. App. LEXIS 2504 (Tex. Ct. App. 1954).

Opinion

HUGHES, Justice.

T. C. Jensen owned a truck and trailer which collided with a State (Texas) High[589]*589way Department truck on State Highway 71 near the town of Ellinger, Fayette County, Texas, on June 2, 1948. As a result of this collision three suits were instituted in the District Court of Fayette County against T. C. Jensen and others by Oather E. Shafer, who was injured in such collision and by those entitled to recover damages for the deaths -of Fritz C. Wittman and Joe Bednar who died as a result of injuries sustained in such collision. The State of Texas intervened in each of these suits. In such suits judgments were obtained by the respective plaintiffs and in-tervener in varying amounts against T. C. Jensen and his codefendants.

The instant suit is a consolidation of three actions brought against appellant, Lloyds Casualty Insurer, by those who recovered the judgments referred to above. The liability of appellant, established by judgment of the trial court, non-jury, is predicated upon a public liability insurance policy (No. 4636) covering a White truck and an endorsement thereon covering a Lufkin trailer issued by it to T. C. Jensen.

Appellant has numerous, points of error but'; they resolve themselves into two principal contentions (1) whether'there was any evidence as well as insufficient evidence to support the finding of the trial court that the endorsement on the' policy by which the trailer was insured was made before and not after the collision and (2) whether the' trailer involved in the collision was a “Lufkin” trailer as named in the endorsement or a “Nabors” trailer, not named in the endorsement, and if a “Nabors” trailer whether this fact precludes recovery on the policy.

We • have concluded that the finding of the trial court that

. “Prior to the time of the accident of June 2, 1948, in Fayette County, Texas, Paul Lowry of the Leslie Lowry Insurance Agency of Beaumont, Texas, issued an endorsement to policy No. 4636, covering a Lufkin Semi-Trailer.”'

is so against the great weight and preponderance of .the-evidence as to be clear-3y wrong.

The endorsement in question is dated May 29, 1948, three days before the accident, and was executed by Lowry for the Leslie Lowry and Company óf Beaumont, appellant’s agent. The additional premium for such endorsement was $56.32.

The materiality of this endorsement is shown by a clause in the policy'excluding liability “under coverages A and B (involved here) while the automobile is used for the towing of any trailer owned or hired by the named insured and not covered by like insurance in the company * *

This May 29 endorsement was received by appellant in Houston on June 4, 1948 by mail from Lowry unaccompanied by any letter of transmission. The envelope containing the endorsement bore two Beaumont stamps of different dates, June 2 and June 3., The June 2 stamp was made.by the Lowry Company by the use of a stamp machine. The June 3 stamp was made by the postal department, apparently for the purpose of correcting the erroneous. date of June 2.

When the Lowry'Company sent to appellant’s' office its report of business .for the month of June it listed as the second item thereon the remittance of $56.32 on policy No. 4636, T. C. Jensen. The date of. this transaction was shown as “29” which evidently intended to indicate May 29. This report was received by appellant on July 9, 1948.

Paul Lowry testified by deposition -taken in June 1953. He did not personally appear as a witness and no other member 'of his firm or in his employ gave evidence. We will set out the substance of his testimony material to the issue under consideration.

When asked to give the circumstance surrounding the execution of the trailer endorsement to Policy 4636 Mr. Lowry on direct examination by appellees answered:

“Well of course, you realize that is almost five years ago and-I will give you the best of my recollection about this thing. As I recall, and of course having discussed this after the accident [590]*590with representatives of Lloyds Casualty Insurer, I talked to Mr Jensen several days prior to that endorsement and discussed with him the possibility he had no coverage on his trailer that he was towing there behind his truck, and he asked me to look into it, and if he did not have it, to issue him coverage on it,'which we apparently did. * ⅜ * * * *
“Q. It is your testimony that your conversations and so forth with Mr. Jensen in regard to this additional coverage transpired prior to May 29, 1948, which purports to be the effective date of this endorsement? A. Yes, I think my conversation was prior- to that time.
“Q; Do you recall just how long it. might have been prior to this May 29, "1948 endorsement? A. It was not long' before. The usual operation there,' of course, would be I would give the order, probably pencil it'out to the girl writing the policies or writing the endorsements and she would go on and accomplish the endorsement there that I would write out for her.
“Q. You were at that time fairiy familiar with Mr. Jensen’s coverage over all of his operations, were you not?- A. Yes, I was fairly familiar.
“Q. An this endorsement arose out of the discussions which you have told us about? A. Yes.
“Q. And that is what prompted this endorsement as you recall the situation? A. Yes. * * ■ * * * *
“Q. Do-you recall — these are questions with regard to this endorsement to Policy 4636, showing effective date May 29, 1948, which'has been marked plaintiff’s Exhibit ‘B’. I will ask you Mr; Lowry, if you recall when the information contained in that endorsement was forwarded to the insurance carrier ? A. You are speaking of this endorsement that you present me there? Yes, I recall there was some-; delay in forwarding that endorsement to the company. I attempted in the past to explain to the company why the delay was. It has been about five years ago and I don’t know. I think it was forwarded to the company two or three days after the endorsement’s effective date maybe four days. I do not know the exact date it was sent but it was after the endorsement became effective.
“Q. Do you know whether or not it was after the date of the accident which occurred on June 2, 1948? A. I believe possibly the records of the cbmpany may reflect; if it was after the accident, T don’t know. I do recall discussing it with Mr. Castle.
“A. * * * I do not know when Mr. Jensen was sent that endorsement. As I recall the discussions we had on this casé before, it was before May 29th, if I recall it right. It was on a Saturday. ■
“Q. Prior to May 29, -1948? A. I don’t know but I believe it was on a Saturday. Now, whether the mail went out of the office on Saturday or not, I don’t know. On Saturday at that time we worked rather with a limited staff on a Saturday, and whether the mail went out or whether Mr. Jensen got the mail, whether it was sent to him on the 29th, I don’t know. I am inclined to believe the endprsement was prepared on the 29th because it would not have the effective date otherwise.”

•On cross-examination he testified:

“Q. Well then, you do recollect and you are now swearing you did have a conversation a day or two before this1

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Bluebook (online)
267 S.W.2d 588, 1954 Tex. App. LEXIS 2504, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lloyds-cas-insurer-v-shafer-texapp-1954.