Pace v. American Central Insurance

158 S.W. 892, 173 Mo. App. 485, 1913 Mo. App. LEXIS 705
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 28, 1913
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 158 S.W. 892 (Pace v. American Central Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pace v. American Central Insurance, 158 S.W. 892, 173 Mo. App. 485, 1913 Mo. App. LEXIS 705 (Mo. Ct. App. 1913).

Opinion

ROBERTSON, P. J.

—On July 13, 1911, the defendant issued to the plaintiffs its policy insuring them against loss from fire for one year to an amount not exceeding $1500 on their stock of merchandise, located in Houston, Texas county, consisting principally of jewewlry, optical goods, watch repairs, etc., and other merchandise usually kept for sale in a jewelry store, and on October 31, 1911, a fire occurred which destroyed the entire stock of goods then in the building. About ten days or two weeks after the fire the adjuster for the defendant appeared at Houston. Previous to his arrival it had been rumored that Mr. Pace, one of the plaintiffs, had burned the stock. Up to that time no proofs of loss had been made out and the plaintiffs’ books and some of their invoices had been destroyed in the fire, except it was claimed that the ledger was at the home of the plaintiff Pace.

[492]*492The local agents for the defendant company and the adjuster submitted to the plaintiffs a nonwaiver agreement, reading as follows:

“It is hereby mutually understood and agreed by and between (G. E.) Pace and (Clark). Dooley, doing business under the firm name of Pace and Dooley, parties of the first part, and the American Central Insurance Company of St. Louis, Mo., party of the second part, that any action taken by said party of the second part in investigating the cause of fire or investigating and ascertaining the amount of the cash value and of the loss and damage to the property of the parties of the first part caused' by fire alleged to have occurred on the 31st day of October, 1911, shall not modify, waive, or invalidate any of the conditions of the (or any) policy of the party of the .second part, held by the parties of the first part, and shall not modify, waive or invalidate, any rights whatever of either of the parties to this agreement.
1 ‘The intent of this agreement is to preserve the rights of all parties hereto, and provide for an investigation of the fire and the determination of the cash value immediately before the said fire, and of the amount of the loss or damage thereto by said fire, in order that the parties of the first part may not be delayed unnecessarily in their business and in order that the amount of the cash value and of the loss and damage may be ascertained and determined without regard to the liability of the party of the second part.”

This the plaintiffs refused to sign.

Both of the plaintiffs testified that the adjuster told them, after they refused to sign this nonwaiver agreement, after the question was raised as to the fire being caused by plaintiff Pace, and after the adjuster was advised that the books and inventories had been lost and destroyed, to go to the banks and get all of the checks and to go back to the time of the last invoice, which was in March, 1911, and get invoice bills for all [493]*493goods bought and placed in the store since the date of that inventory, secure a statement of bank deposits and add these amounts for goods bought since the inventory to the inventory and then take the amount of sales, as shown by the bank deposits, and subtract that from the inventory and make the proof of loss, attaching those papers to it. The plaintiffs employed a party to make the proof of loss in that manner, which he substantially did, and thus disclosed the amount of the loss to be $2278.87. The proof of loss was verified by plaintiff Pace on December 9, 1911, and delivered to defendant.

On January 31, 1912, the plaintiffs filed their suit in the circuit court of Texas county, alleging the execution and delivery of the policy, and total destruction by fire of the stock of goods in the building, and that the loss and damage to the plaintiffs caused by the fire was $2278.87; that they had given due-notice and made proof of loss and fully executed and performed all of the conditions', stipulations and requirements on their part to be performed, and the refusal of the defendant to pay. To this petition the defendant answered, the first defense reading as follows:

“ Comes now the defendant in the above entitled cause and for answer to plaintiffs’ petition, admits the execution of the policy sued on, but denies each and every other allegation in the said petition contained except such as are hereinafter specifically admitted.”

The second defense was a denial that plaintiffs had complied with the terms and conditions of the policy or that they had sustained loss or damage to the property covered by the policy in any amount “as alleged in said petition” and denied that defendant was indebted to the plaintiffs in any sum whatever.

The third defense alleges that the policy contained the following provisions:

“Warranty to Keep' Books and Inventories^and to Produce Them in Case of Loss.—“The following [494]*494covenants and warranties on the part of the assured, and conditions on the. part of the American Central Insurance Company of St. Louis, Mo., are hereby made part of the policy, to which this clause is attached:
“1st. The assured will take an itemized inventory of stock hereby insured at least once in each calendar year, and unless such inventory shall have been taken within twelve (12) months prior to the date of this policy, the same shall be taken in detail within thirty (30) days after said date, or this policy shall be null and void from and after the expiration of said thirty (30) days, and upon demand of the assured, the unearned premium for the unexpired time of this policy shall be returned.
“2nd, The assured shall keep a set of books, which shall clearly and plainly present a complete record of the business transacted, including all purchases, sales and shipments of said stock, both for cash and credit, from the date of the inventory or inventories provided for in the first section' of this clause, and during the continuance of this policy.
“3rd. The assured will keep such books and last inventory, and also the last preceding inventory, securely locked in a fireproof safe at night, and at all times when the building mentioned in this policy, or the portion thereof containing the stock described therein is not actually open for business; or failing in this, the assured will keep such books and inventories, at night, and at all such times, in some place not exposed to a fire which would ignite or destroy the aforesaid building; and in case of loss, the assured specifically warrants, agrees and covenants to produce such books and inventories for the inspection of said company.
“In the event of failure on the part of the assured to keep and produce such books and inventories for the inspection of said company this entire policy shall become null and void, and such failure shall constitute a perpetual bar to any recovery thereon.”'

[495]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
158 S.W. 892, 173 Mo. App. 485, 1913 Mo. App. LEXIS 705, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pace-v-american-central-insurance-moctapp-1913.