Morat v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

949 S.W.2d 692, 1997 WL 9277, 1997 Tenn. App. LEXIS 18
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJanuary 13, 1997
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 949 S.W.2d 692 (Morat v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance) 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
Morat v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, 949 S.W.2d 692, 1997 WL 9277, 1997 Tenn. App. LEXIS 18 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

FRANKS, Judge.

In this action for malicious prosecution, the Trial Judge granted the defendant summary judgment, and plaintiffs have appealed.

Plaintiff Michael Morat is an insurance agent with the Morat Insurance Agency, Inc., in Memphis. The genesis of this dispute occurred in 1981, when plaintiffs sent a policy change request form to defendant to change the motor vehicle insured by defendant under the assigned risk plan through this agency for the insured, J.W. Whitten. Whitten was in the process of purchasing a 1981 Cadillac and plaintiffs, after exploring the possibility of insurance from other companies, agreed to Whitten’s request to apply to substitute the 1981 Cadillac for the motor vehicle on the existing assigned risk policy. Michael Morat filled out the application for change, which Whitten signed. The plaintiff noted on the form that it was a replacement vehicle and in the application in the space for “cost new”, the plaintiff filled in $25,000.00. In a box on the form, plaintiff noted that the vehicle had not been altered. Upon defendant’s receipt of the application, the change was processed and the 1981 Cadillac became the insured vehicle.

Less than two months later the vehicle burned and a claim was made to defendant. Upon investigation of the loss, defendant determined that the vehicle had been substantially altered, which increased its value to over $40,000.00. Defendant ultimately settled with the loss payee for an amount in excess of $24,000.00 and then brought an action against the agent and agency on the theory that had the true value of the vehicle been represented, defendant would not have insured the vehicle, because the assigned risk plan does not require an insurance company to insure a motor vehicle for more than $25,000.00, and it was defendant’s policy not to insure vehicles costing in excess of that amount.

The case against plaintiffs went to trial with a resulting judgment in their favor, whereupon they brought this action for malicious prosecution.

Numerous and exhaustive depositions were taken along with exhibits filed and defendant moved for summary judgment, which the Trial Judge granted on the ground that defendant had reasonably relied on advice of counsel. On that basis, the Court concluded there was “probable cause” to file suit against plaintiffs herein.

On appeal, plaintiffs insist there are genuine issues of material fact “as to lack of probable cause, malice, and advice of counsel”. While there are more than 4,000 pages in the record before us, we do not find any genuine issue as to any material fact as contemplated in Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 56. For purposes of a summary judgment, the plaintiffs’ deposition is to be taken as true, and Michael Morat testified in pertinent part:

[694]*694Q. Were you advised by Huffman on August 31, 1981 of the value of the automobile?
A. My notation shows that he gave me a cost of the automobile.
Q. What did he tell you?
A. $49,900.00.
Q. Well, then you next called State Farm, is that right?
A. That’s correct.
Q. Who did you call at State Farm?
A. I called and asked for the Tennessee Assigned Risk Underwriting Department.
Q. Did you tell this person you were speaking to the figure Huffman had told you of $49,900.00?
A. I did.
Q. What exactly did you say?
A. I explained to the man that I spoke to that this man is — Mr. Whitten is purchasing this automobile, and because of the value, I needed to know what to do with this policy, whether they would substitute the automobile, or what they would do with it.
Q. What were you told?
A. He explained to me that under the insurable interest of the car under the actual as far as the value of the automobile, less any custom equipment, they would protect the car for no more than $25,000.00.
Q. Can you explain it to me? Can you explain to me what you are saying to me, can you explain what they told you they would insure it for?
A. They said they would only insure it up to the value of the automobile, less any custom equipment for a like make and model of a 1981 Cadillac Seville.
Q. Was the $25,000.00 figure in there somewhere?
A. No, sir. The policy — they would not insure a vehicle over $25,000.00 less any custom equipment.
Q. So on August 31 you did not know the cost of the custom modifications on this vehicle?
A. No, sir. The only cost I knew was the cost of that car, of what the dealership was trying to sell that automobile for the customer at.
Q. That would be $49,900.00?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. But you knew that there were custom modifications?
A. I knew there were custom modifications on the automobile. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you know Whitten was coming in on the 4th?
A. No, sir. I didn’t.
Q. But he came in?
A. He came in on the 4th.
Q. What did he say, and what did you say on the 4th when he came into your office?
A. He came into my office, and I advised him at that time we have got to make some changes on your auto policy, and he said “that’s why I’m here”.
Q. Did you complete an application on the 4th?
A. I did.
Q. And did Whitten sign it?
A. I completed a Tennessee Automobile Insurance Plan Change Endorsement form, or Policy Change Request, as they call it.
We took down the pertinent information on the policy. We cheeked off that this was a replacement vehicle on the particular policy number, an ’81 Cadillac Seville. We listed the lienholder, change of address for him. He signed it and I witnessed his signature.
[695]*695Q. Is this change form different from the initial policy application?
A. Yes, sir. It is.
Q. This form has a space on it for “cost new”, and written in the space is $25,-000.00. Is that in your writing?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. Why did you put $25,000.00 in the “cost new” blank on this change request form?
A. I put $25,000.00 because this is the amount of what the company would protect up to for an automobile like the make and model of an ’81 Cadillac Seville, less any custom equipment.
Q. Did he [underwriter] tell you to put $25,000.00 in this blank?
A.

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Bluebook (online)
949 S.W.2d 692, 1997 WL 9277, 1997 Tenn. App. LEXIS 18, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morat-v-state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-tennctapp-1997.