Maryland Casualty Company v. Sullivan

326 S.W.2d 729, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2036
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 3, 1959
Docket5349
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 326 S.W.2d 729 (Maryland Casualty Company v. Sullivan) 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
Maryland Casualty Company v. Sullivan, 326 S.W.2d 729, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2036 (Tex. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

LANGDON, Chief Justice.

On appeal from an award of the Industrial Accident Board, appellee claimed benefits for herself and minor children oin account of the death of her husband, Paul J. Sullivan, killed while piloting an airplane in a crop dusting accident. Appellant denied that the deceased was an employee of the employer insured by appellant. On trial, in answer to the single issue submitted by the trial court, the jury found that deceased was such employee, and1 the trial court held that coverage was provided by the policy. Judgment was entered for appellee and this appeal followed.

Appellant has brought eleven points of error which present two main questions for our consideration:

1. Is there evidence, or sufficient evidence, to support the jury’s verdict that the deceased was an employee of John S. Bavousett, doing business as Bavousett Fertilizer & Chemical Company?

2. Was coverage afforded the deceased under appellant’s workmen’s compensation policy sold by it to Bavousett Fertilizer & Chemical Company?

We believe the first question must be answered in the affirmative.

It is appellant’s contention that the deceased was an employee of Better Crop Dusters Company, a corporation, the employees of which were not insured by appellant; that appellant was the insurer of the employees of Bavousett Fertilizer & Chemical Company and that the policy of workmen’s compensation insurance issued by appellant to this company provided no coverage for the deceased because the terms of the policy, classification, and rate did not include crop dusting.

The Bavousett Fertilizer & Chemical Company, which we shall hereafter refer to as the “Bavousett Company”, was managed and solely owned by John S. Bavousett. In addition, Mr. Bavousett owned an interest in two corporations — Better Crop Dusters Company, and Pioneer Chemicals Company, Inc. Each of these corporations owned aircraft, employed aircraft pilots, *731 ■engaged in the business of aerial crop dusting, and also sold agricultural chemicals.

Because Mr. Bavousett died before the trial of this case, his testimony was not ■available at the trial below. It is undisputed, however, that the deceased pilot, Paul J. Sullivan, was hired personally by Mr. Bavousett. As sole owner of the Bav-ousett Company, Mr. Bavousett unquestionably had the authority to employ the de■ceased in the business of the Bavousett ■Company. We think it may also be assumed that Bavousett had authority to employ the deceased in the business of the •corporation, Better Crop Dusters, and possibly had the same authority in connection with the business of Pioneer Chemical ■Company, Inc. The evidence is conflicting ■on the question as to which company was the employer of the deceased at the time ■of his death. We think it was the duty ■of the jury to resolve this conflict, which it did, the conflict being resolved in favor ■of the appellee.

The Bavousett Company is shown by the ■evidence to have been engaged in the business of the sale and application of insecticides, fertilizers, fungicides, hormones, weed sprays and dusters. One of appellant’s witnesses, Mrs. Mary Bavousett, testified on direct examination; “ * * * we have a warehouse that we stored agricultural chemicals in, we had men that made contacts and sold chemicals, men, one ■or two. We had a mechanic to help repair tractors and we had one that applied these chemicals on the property — on the farm.” She explained that the man who applied the chemicals on the farm was a truck driver or tractor man. On cross-examination, Mrs. Bavousett testified that she was not present when her husband hired the deceased, and knew none of the details of his employment.

The deceased was killed within two or three days after he was hired by Mr. Bav-ousett, and before he had received his first pay check. The fatal accident occurred on the farm of appellee’s witness, Mr. J. G. Britton, who testified that he contacted John Bavousett to apply insecticides; that the insecticide was applied by airplane; that the airplane crashed and the pilot was killed; that he was thereafter billed for the insecticides and its application by Bav-ousett Fertilizer & Chemical Company, and that he paid the bill by check made payable to Bavousett Fertilizer & Chemical Company. He further testified that the check was paid and returned bearing the endorsement of the Bavousett Fertilizer & Chemical Company, and that he received no bills from Better Crop Dusters Company.

When the testimony is conflicting on a question of fact, the appellate court will not disturb the verdict of the jury when there is competent evidence to support the findings; and it is immaterial that the trial judge and the appellate court might have arrived at a different conclusion in passing upon the conflicting evidence. 4 Tex.Jur. 2nd 390, pars. 837 and 838; Benoit v. Wilson, 150 Tex. 273, 239 S.W.2d 792; Continental Fire & Cas. Ins. Corp. v. Drummond, Tex.Civ.App., 220 S.W.2d 922.

The jury having found that the deceased was an employee of the Bavousett Company, the second question on this appeal is raised. Was coverage afforded the deceased under appellant’s workmen’s compensation policy sold by it to the Bavousett Company?

We think this question must also be answered in the affirmative.

The policy of workmen’s compensation insurance issued by appellant to the Bavou-sett Company is the standard workmen’s compensation and employers’ liability policy. Among other provisions it contains the following:

“IV. This Agreement shall apply to such injuries so sustained by reason of the business operations described in said Declarations which, for the purpose of this insurance, shall include all operations necessary, incident or op- *732 purtenant thereto, or connected therewith, whether such operations are conducted at the work places defined and described in said Declarations or elsewhere in connection with, or in relation to, such work places.”

Appellant contends that the application of agricultural chemicals by airplane is a separate business enterprise, and is not incident to or connected with the sale of such products; that the policy does not cover airplane pilots and that no such employees are described or rated in the Declarations, and no premium has been paid on such a classification of employees.

The evidence reflects that the Bavousett Company was in the business of selling fertilizer and insecticides and had a man who applied the chemicals on the farms by tractor. While common sense would dictate that a greater risk or hazard would be involved in the application of agricultural chemicals by aircraft than is the case where they are applied by tractor or other ground vehicle, this risk was not excluded by the terms of the policy.

The conditions of the policy were such that appellant had the right to assess additional premiums for any operations engaged in by the employer which were necessary, incident or appurtenant to the business of the employer described in the Declarations, even though such operations are not described or rated in the Declarations.

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Related

Brown v. Transamerica Insurance Company
416 S.W.2d 902 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1967)
Maryland Casualty Company v. Sullivan
334 S.W.2d 783 (Texas Supreme Court, 1960)

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Bluebook (online)
326 S.W.2d 729, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2036, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maryland-casualty-company-v-sullivan-texapp-1959.