Nelson v. Old Guard Mutual Insurance

13 Pa. D. & C.4th 173, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 1
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Fulton County
DecidedSeptember 6, 1990
Docketno. 105 of 1988
StatusPublished

This text of 13 Pa. D. & C.4th 173 (Nelson v. Old Guard Mutual Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Fulton County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nelson v. Old Guard Mutual Insurance, 13 Pa. D. & C.4th 173, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 1 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1990).

Opinion

WALKER, J.,

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Plaintiff Scott H. Nelson and defendant Elton Schoen owned a farmhouse as tenants in common. The property was known as Stone Top Mountain Farm and was located in Todd Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania.

In 1980, Nelson acquired insurance coverage on the house with defendant Old Guard Mutual Insurance Company through its agent, defendant Richard’s Insurance Company. Plaintiff instructed Richard’s to send all billings and notices to his New Cumberland, Pennsylvania address. Richard’s did in fact send the notices to that address and the bills were paid through 1984. However, Richard’s failed to send any premium renewal, nonrenewal or cancellation notices for the November 10, 1985 to November 10, 1986 policy period.

In November or December of 1985, Schoen contacted Richard’s at plaintiff’s request and asked that a bill be sent to plaintiff in New Cumberland. John Brown, an agent with Richard’s, told Schoen that the billings would be sent to that address. No billings or notices were sent to the plaintiff.

Nelson realized in February 1986, that no payments had been made for insurance in 1985 and told Schoen to contact Richard’s and request a billing. Schoen did so and Richard’s agent informed Schoen that bills had been sent to plaintiff and would be mailed to him in the future. No bills had been or were later sent and the policy had, in fact, been canceled. The agent did [175]*175not tell Schoen at the meeting that the policy had earlier lapsed or that it had been canceled.

Schoen again contacted Richard’s when no bills were received and was informed by the agent that bills would be mailed. No bills were sent.

A fire destroyed the farmhouse on May 13, 1986, causing $75,000 in damage to the structure, beyond the limits of the $46,000 policy, and resulting in content loss of $12,000.

Nelson sent Old Guard a check for $200, the approximate 1985-86 premium, on May 18, 1986. Old Guard accepted and negotiated the check. Plaintiff demanded payment from Old Guard pursuant to the terms of the policy on July 28, 1986, and Old Guard refused to make payment.

Plaintiff filed a complaint against Old Guard, Richard’s and Schoen on December 2,1988. Richard’s filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer on the ground, inter alia, that none of the facts alleged in the complaint alleged fraudulent conduct necessary for a cause of action under the Consumer Protection Law. Schoen filed preliminary objections in the nature of a motion to strike several counts of the complaint. President Judge John W. Keller delivered the opinion of this court on September 15, 1990, sustaining both Richard’s and Schoen’s preliminary objections and granting Nelson leave to file an amended complaint.

Nelson filed a corrected amended complaint on October 23, 1989, and Old Guard filed an answer to the amended complaint on March 12, 1990. Old Guard is not involved in this proceeding.

Richard’s filed preliminary objections to the amended complaint on March 12, 1990, in the nature of a demurrer. Again, Richard’s has demurred on the grounds [176]*176that the amended complaint fails to allege facts that would fall within the purview of the Consumer Protection Law.

Schoen filed preliminary objections on April 2,1990, alleging that Nelson’s complaint failed to allege that plaintiff suffered any damage or that Schoen had been in possession of the property to the exclusion of Nelson.

Richard’s filed a brief in support of its preliminary objections on June 7, 1990. Arguments were heard on the objections on June 26, 1990 in Fulton County. Nelson filed a brief in opposition to Richard’s preliminary objections on July 2, 1990.

DISCUSSION

We will examine each of the defendant’s preliminary objections individually.

Richard’s Preliminary Objections

Two statutory mandates control the disposition of this case. The first is the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. §201-1 et seq. The second is Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 1019(b).

The Consumer Protection Law provides a limited range of protection. The specific activities which are prohibited in the law are provided in subsections 201-2(4)(i) through (xvi). Subsection (xvii) is the so-called “catchall provision,” which provides that it is a violation of the Consumer Protection Law to engage “in any other fraudulent conduct which creates a likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding.”

This court has carefully studied the plaintiff’s complaint and must assume that it is this catchall under which he hopes to recover. Plaintiff has not alleged [177]*177that the complaint fits within the ambit of any of the act’s other provisions and this court, after careful consideration, believes that it could not fit within any of the more specific prohibitions. Count IV of the complaint merely provides:

“(33) The misrepresentation of the agents of defendant Richard’s Insurance Service, and its nondisclosure of the lack of insurance coverage on the farm, as described above, constitutes an unfair or deceptive trade practice or act within the meaning of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. §201-1 et seq.”

We are quite aware that we must interpret the wording of the Consumer Protection Law very broadly. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had the opportunity to interpret the law in a 1974 decision, in which it stated:

“Although the Consumer Protection Law did articulate the evils desired to be remedied, the statute’s underlying foundation is fraud prevention.... Since the Consumer Protection Law was in relevant part designed to thwart fraud in the statutory sense, it is to be construed liberally to effect its object of preventing unfair or deceptive practices.” Commonwealth v. Monumental Properties Inc., 459 Pa. 450, 459, 329 A.2d 812, 817, on remand 26 Pa. Commw. 399, 365 A.2d 442 (1976).

Although we are aware of our mandate, and although plaintiff says that the defendant’s alleged misrepresentation and nondisclosure is an unfair or deceptive practice, such an allegation does not make it so. Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 1019(b) requires that “averments of fraud ... shall be averred with particularity.” We hold today that the complaint fails to do so.

We are persuaded by the Commonwealth Court’s decision in Zimmerman v. National Apartment Leasing, [178]*178102 Pa. Commw. 623, 519 A.2d 1050 (1986). There, the attorney general brought an action against a group of landlords alleging that the defendants wrongfully used portions of security deposits to clean apartments.

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Related

Commonwealth v. Monumental Properties, Inc.
329 A.2d 812 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1974)
Ross v. Shawmut Development Corp.
333 A.2d 751 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1975)
Sciotto v. Sciotto
288 A.2d 822 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1972)
Allstate Insurance v. Fioravanti
299 A.2d 585 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1973)
Hoog v. Diehl
3 A.2d 187 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1938)
Commonwealth v. Monumental Properties, Inc.
365 A.2d 442 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1976)
Commonwealth v. National Apartment Leasing Co.
519 A.2d 1050 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
Chatham Racquet Club v. Commonwealth
541 A.2d 51 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
13 Pa. D. & C.4th 173, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nelson-v-old-guard-mutual-insurance-pactcomplfulton-1990.