London Assur. Corp. v. Belcher

5 S.W.2d 844, 1928 Tex. App. LEXIS 403
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 24, 1928
DocketNo. 9108.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 5 S.W.2d 844 (London Assur. Corp. v. Belcher) 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
London Assur. Corp. v. Belcher, 5 S.W.2d 844, 1928 Tex. App. LEXIS 403 (Tex. Ct. App. 1928).

Opinion

GRAVES, J.

These litigants will here be designated as appellant and appellees, instead of as in the record.

Appellees Mrs. Belcher and children, for the benefit of themselves and of their coap-pellee, Mrs. Fink, as their mortgagee, sued appellant upon its fire policy No. D. H. 6861212, dated June 18, 1925, carrying a loss-payable rider in favor of Mrs. Fink as her interest might appear of date August 24, 1925, insuring their dwelling house and contents against fire until June 18, 1926, in the sum of $1,500, $1,000 of it upon the house, the remaining $500 upon the furniture therein. They declared that on January 24^ 1926, both the house and furniture had been totally destroyed by fire, 'or, if not, were damaged thereby to the extent of $6,000" on the house and $2,500 on the furniture, and that appellant had wrongfully refused to pay, etc. Mrs. link, by intervention, independently set up her rights under the policy as such mortgagee.

In defense, as against all adverse parties, the appellant averred that the policy sued upon was void and not binding upon it for three reasons: (1) That the appellees other than in-tervener had procured and had in force at the time of the fire insurance on the building to the extent of $5,000, which was more than the policy sued upon permitted; (2) that Mrs. Belcher, the insured under the policy, was not the sole and unconditional owner of the property covered, as its terms required; (3) that, in further violation of the policy’s terms, foreclosure proceedings against the property had been commenced, judgment therein rendered on or about July 7, 1925, and order of sale, under which the sheriff had seized and given notice of the sale of it, had been issued on or about July 27, 1925. .

It further pleaded that, in event of any liability on its part, the same could not exceed its pro rata portion of the loss, considering the total insurance carried, and sought sub-rogation . to the intervener’s rights against the other appellees, in event she was held entitled to recover anything against it.

The cause went to a jury on special issues, upon which, in substance, these findings were made:

(lj The amount of damage to the building covered by the policy from the fire on January 24, 1926, was $4,750.

(2) The property was Mrs. Belcher’s homestead at the time the policy was issued.

(3) The value of the household furniture destroyed by the fire was $3,000.

(4) This property was Mrs. Belcher’s homestead at the time the fire occurred.

(5) This property was the community property of Mrs. Belcher and her deceased husband.

(6) Mrs. Keller, defendant’s agent, before the policy was issued knew that the property was owned jointly by Mrs. Belcher and the other plaintiffs.

(7) Due proof of loss was made in February, 1926.

(8) P. H. Hughes, the agent of the Continental and North British & Mercantile Insuf- *845 anee Companies, told Mrs. Belcher that, upon the expiration of the two policies issued by him, and then held by Crane as security for a loan, his agency would not renew them, or issue others in lieu of them.

(9) Crane told Mrs. Belcher that on the expiration of those two policies he would not undertake to procure other insurance himself upon the property.

(10) Before the fire, Mrs. Belcher did not know that the policies issued by the Grigsby & Hughes Agency had been issued and mailed to Crane.

(11) Mrs. Belcher advised the defendant’s agent at the time its policy was issued that a suit to foreclose a deed of trust lien on the property described in the policy was then pending in the district court of Anderson county. She notified -defendant’s agent before the fire that a notice of sale of the property covered by defendant’s policy had been issued.

The judgment of the court was that Mrs. Belcher recover from the appellant the sum of $500, with interest from May 1, 1926; that Mrs. Pink recover from Mrs. Belcher and George M. Belcher $1,574.90, with interest at 10 per cent, per annum from January 17, 1927, together with foreclosure of deed of trust lien; that Mrs. Pink recover from appellant the sum of $1,000, with interest from May 1, 1926; that the other appellees take nothing; that appellant take nothing by its cross-action.

The appeal proceeds under a number of propositions, which comprehend • five contentions; (1) The undisputed evidence showed that there was extant more insurance on the property covered than the terms of the policy in suit permitted, thereby making it void and unenforceable; (2) the trial court committed reversible error in submitting to the jury special issues Nos. 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, as above enumerated; (3) the two policies shown to have been issued by the Grigsby and Hughes agency were valid and enforceable, constituted additional insurance within the prohibitory terms of the policy sued upon, and defeated it; (4) there was no evidence to support the jury’s answers to special issues Nos. 1, 7, and 9; (5) the judgment was excessive in two particulars — (a) a greater recovery than appellant’s pro rata part .of the loss was allowed, (b) interest was allowed to begin from an earlier date than 60 days after the proof-of loss was made.

None of these contentions, we think, can be sustained. Of them, the one most earnestly urged is that for excess insurance, embraced under Nos. 1 and 3 above. It consists of the claim that two policies for $1,000 each that Mrs. Belcher carried for the benefit of Mr. Crane, her mortgagee at that time, as his interest might appear, and which expired by their terms in March and April of 1925, respectively, had been carried forward into two other or renewal, policies for like amounts severally dated April 17 and June 1, of 1925, that were in full force and effect at the time of the fire; the added amount thereof running the total insurance she then had above the permissible maximum.

In this connection, it is seriously argued that the undisputed evidence showed these two last mentioned renewal policies to have so been in force when the fire occurred and binding upon Mrs. Belcher, whether she had known- of . their existence or not up to that time, and that both she and Mr. Grane were precluded from denying such to be the fact; Camden Fire Ins. Ass’n v. Sutherland (Tex. Com. App.) 284 S. W. 927, among other cases, being cited in support.

As we read the record, the practically undisputed evidence established the controlling facts just the other way; that is, it was here shown that neither Mrs. Belcher nor Mr. Crane ever consented to the renewal or continuance of the insurance she so carried for his benefit into these deelared-upon policies of April 17 and June 1, of 1925, which situation plainly distinguishes this cause from the cited Sutherland Case, et omne genus.

It is true that the deed of trust Crane held, which had been given back in July of 1924 and was still in force at the time the policy in suit was issued, contained a recitation, in substance, that Mrs. Belcher would insure the dwelling here involved for Crane’s benefit to the extent of his debt, and, if she failed to do so, he himself had the right to so insure it, and that, contemporaneously with the giving of that deed of trust, she complied with such provision by procuring for his •benefit from ’ the P. H.

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Bluebook (online)
5 S.W.2d 844, 1928 Tex. App. LEXIS 403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/london-assur-corp-v-belcher-texapp-1928.