Northwest Insurance v. Albrecht

587 P.2d 1081, 22 Wash. App. 16, 1978 Wash. App. LEXIS 2755
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 30, 1978
DocketNo. 3010-2
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 587 P.2d 1081 (Northwest Insurance v. Albrecht) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Northwest Insurance v. Albrecht, 587 P.2d 1081, 22 Wash. App. 16, 1978 Wash. App. LEXIS 2755 (Wash. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

Soule, J.

The Northwest Insurance Company, appellant, brought an action against Arnold Albrecht, Groat Bros., Inc. (Groat), and Industrial Indemnity Company (I.I.C.), to resolve two principal questions. The first is whether Northwest Insurance is liable under a motor truck cargo owner and carrier's policy for damage done to a log loader owned by Albrecht, but being transported by Groat. The second is to determine whether I.I.C. covers the loss under its "Contractor's Equipment All Risk" policy and in [18]*18consequence is liable to Northwest Insurance for attorney's fees expended in defense of the main action.

This dispute arose when a log loader owned by Albrecht was being transported to a new jobsite by Groat. In the course of the movement, the tractor truck pulling a lowboy trailer upon which the log loader was mounted became unable to proceed. A combination of fresh gravel and a steep grade overcame the tractive ability of the truck. The wheels spun and threw gravel with the result that the drivewheels settled down a few inches into the road surface and the truck was unable to extricate itself. Albrecht employees were accompanying the Groat movement to guide the way to the jobsite. Faced with the emergency, and being loggers, not lawyers, Albrecht and Groat decided to use an Albrecht crawler tractor operated by an Albrecht employee to attempt to extricate Groat's truck. A cable was run to the truck and an effort was made to move forward by the simultaneous application of truck and tractor power. This effort caused the truck and trailer to tip. The weight of the load caused the log loader to break its chains and slide off the trailer with resulting damage to the loader. The truck and trailer, being relieved of the extra weight, did not further upset but returned to an upright position.

Based on this incident, Albrecht sued Groat in Cowlitz County and recovered. Northwest Insurance denied coverage but defended under reservation of rights. Northwest Insurance in turn tendered the defense to I.I.C. which refused the tender.

When that action was resolved in Albrecht's favor, this action to determine coverage resulted. Groat, expanded the action by seeking a declaration of coverage against I.I.C. In the present action, the trial court found that the Northwest Insurance policy did provide coverage for the damage sustained by the log loader and further found that the I.I.C. policy did not. Groat has not appealed the denial of I.I.C. coverage.

Northwest Insurance's assignments of error present four issues.

[19]*19Did the Trailer Strike the Road Bed?

Section 5(b) of the policy excludes coverage for accidents caused by striking the roadbed.1 Counsel for Northwest Insurance attempted, without success, to extract testimony from the various witnesses which would tend to establish that when the truck wheels spun in, the bottom of the trailer came to rest on the crown of the gravel road. A number of witnesses testified that they did not know whether or not such a condition occurred and this is understandable since their attention was directed elsewhere by the pressure of the events. No one testified that it did happen in the suggested manner. On the contrary, Arnold Albrecht testified that there was 6 to 10 inches clearance between the bottom of the trailer after the unit became immobile. Thus, there was substantial evidence to support the finding that there had been no striking of the roadbed and those findings will not be disturbed on appeal. Seattle-First Nat'l Bank v. Brommers, 89 Wn.2d 190, 570 P.2d 1035 (1977); Rae v. Konopaski, 2 Wn. App. 92, 467 P.2d 375 (1970).

Did the Truck and Trailer Overturn?

Northwest Insurance assigns error to that portion of finding of fact No. 5 which provides in part:

The same Northwest Insurance Company policy provides at part 5-C, that the company will pay the legal liability of the insured for overturn of the transporting conveyance and the Court finds from the evidence that the transporting vehicle owned by Groat Bros., Inc., had lost its equilibrium at the time of the accident in question, and would have rolled completely over had not the chains holding the cargo broken and therefore, an overturn of the transporting conveyance occurred.

The foregoing finding appears to us to be a mixed finding and conclusion. We find there is substantial evidence to [20]*20support the finding portion. Lloyd Groat, the driver of the truck, testified:

Q All right. And now where were you positioned after the Cat had hooked up, when you agreed to move it uphill?
A I got back in the cab, the truck.
Q All right. Can you tell me and tell the Court what you observed and what happened after the Cat began to pull again?
A We began to move, or what seemed to be a movement, and as far as — I can't — I don't know whether it was while we were moving or when the loader started to go . off, the truck tipped, or started to tip, to a degree, and I looked back to see what was happening, why it was tipping so much. I thought that I and the truck and the trailer was going to end up in the canyon.
Q All right. And do you know why you didn't go over in the canyon, the truck, trailer and all?
A The chains broke.
Q And had those chains not broken, would the truck have righted itself?
A No.

The legal question presented is whether or not the movement of the truck and trailer in tilting, losing its load and then regaining stability as described by the witness and found by the court, is an overturn within the meaning of the policy.

To support their contention that there was an overturn within the meaning of the policy, respondents cite Jack v. Standard Marine Ins. Co., 33 Wn.2d 265, 205 P.2d 351, 8 A.L.R.2d 1426 (1949). In that case, a loss of equilibrium caused a self-propelled power shovel to fall backward. The front of the tracks lifted, but the counterbalance then came in contact with the ground, thus preventing a complete overturn. In holding that a completed upset was not necessary to constitute an overturn within the meaning of the insurance policy, the court said at page 270:

Once a vehicle loses its equilibrium and the overturning process has commenced and proceeded beyond the power of those in charge of the vehicle to stop its progress, it would be unimportant whether the vehicle turned over [21]*21and over, rolling down a hillside, or came to rest on a flat surface in an exactly horizontal position, or came to rest a short distance above the horizontal or at any other angle. It should be held that the vehicle had overturned or upset, within the meaning and intent of such a policy.

In considering the same problem, the court in Carl Ingalls, Inc. v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 137 Cal. App. 741, 31 P.2d 414 (1934) at 747 said:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Reed v. Kariko
W.D. Washington, 2022
Paktank Louisiana, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan, Inc.
688 F. Supp. 1087 (E.D. Louisiana, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
587 P.2d 1081, 22 Wash. App. 16, 1978 Wash. App. LEXIS 2755, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northwest-insurance-v-albrecht-washctapp-1978.