Pan American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Greenberg

326 S.W.2d 274, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 1988
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 8, 1959
DocketNo. 6870
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 326 S.W.2d 274 (Pan American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Greenberg) 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
Pan American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Greenberg, 326 S.W.2d 274, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 1988 (Tex. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

PITTS, Chief Justice.

Plaintiffs, Pan American Fire & Casualty Company and Baloise Fire &' Marine Insurance Company, Ltd., and DeWitt El-more dba DeWitt Elmore Motors, filed suit against defendants, Herbert Greenberg, Allstate Insurance Company and three other named defendants who, according to the record, were college students namely, Frederick Schoenfeld, Julius C. Frappollo and William Norris, seeking a declaratory judgment to establish non-liability on two similar “garage liability” policies issued separately by the insurance party plaintiffs, to DeWitt Elmore Motors, both of which policies were in force on December 21, 1956, when a 1953 Ford automobile furnished Herbert Greenberg for his use by DeWitt Elmore Motors was completely demolished on the said date by reason of a collision with another motor vehicle in the State of Oklahoma at which time the said 1953 Ford was being used by Herbert Greenberg and the other named college student defendants. The record reveals that prior to December 21, 1956, DeWitt Elmore Motors contracted with Herbert Greenberg to sell him a new 1957 Ford automobile at a fixed price of $2,215 with a deferred delivery of four to six weeks and that if Greenberg sold and gave possession of his 1955 Ford Automobile he then owned before DeWitt Elmore Motors could deliver to him the new automobile, then DeWitt Elmore Motors agreed in that event to furnish Greenberg a car to use as if it were his own until such time [275]*275as the new automobile could be delivered by Elmore; that Greenberg sold and delivered to the buyer his 1955 Ford before the new automobile was delivered to him by DeWitt Elmore Motors as a result of which DeWitt Elmore Motors furnished to Greenberg the said 1953 Ford for his use and it was while Greenberg was so using the said 1953 Ford under the agreement with DeWitt Elmore that the said 1953 Ford was demolished as a result of the said collision.

Each of the policies previously herein referred to contained the following Exclusion Clause: “This policy does not apply to any automobile while rented to others by the named insured.” The plaintiffs claimed in effect that the said 1953 Ford automobile was being used by Herbert Greenberg under a rental agreement between himself and DeWitt Elmore for a valuable consideration when the same was demolished, for which reason the plaintiff insurers claim they are not liable for losses sustained by reason of the foregoing Exclusion Clause in each of the policies. While defendants Herbert Greenberg and Allstate Insurance Company contend in effect that the said 1953 Ford automobile had not been rented to Herbert Greenberg by DeWitt Elmore Motors but it had been loaned to Herbert Greenberg by DeWitt Elmore merely as an accommodation without consideration while Greenberg waited for delivery to him of the new automobile by Elmore and that the policies issued to Elmore by the plaintiff insurers had the primary coverage of the loss sustained by reason of the collision and that a policy issued by Allstate Insurance Company to Herbert Greenberg, as alleged by plaintiffs, was issued only to indemnify Greenberg against loss and provided excess coverage over and above the primary coverage provided by plaintiff insurers’ policies.

Based upon their claims made, plaintiffs filed a motion for a summary judgment on March 5, 1958, and attached thereto copies of their policies here involved and an affidavit showing sworn statements made by Herbert Greenberg. Thereafter on April 3, 1958, defendants Herbert Greenberg and Allstate Insurance Company likewise filed a motion for a summary judgment and attached thereto Herbert Greenberg’s affidavit to the effect that the 1953 Ford automobile in question was not rented to him by Elmore but was loaned to him by De-Witt Elmore Motors without any consideration for its use and also attached an affidavit showing other sworn statements previously made by Herbert Greenberg. On May 6, 1958, the trial court heard and overruled both motions for summary judgment, thus implying that there were material issues of fact to be heard in the case.

On August 4, 1958, before the case went to trial the same day to a jury, plaintiff DeWitt Elmore filed his motion for a dismissal of the suit as to him, without prejudice to the rights of any other party, which motion was sustained and the action as to him was dismissed by order of the trial court entered of the same date. The case then went to trial as to all other parties before a jury, to which only one special issue was submitted and that was submitted without objections or exceptions of any party to the suit. In answer to the one is- ■ sue submitted, the jury found in effect that Herbert Greenberg had the implied permission of DeWitt Elmore to use the 1953 Ford automobile in question in making the trip in question when the said automobile was demolished in the State of Oklahoma. Based upon “The verdict of the jury and the evidence heard in the case,” the trial court entered judgment decreeing that the policies issued by Pan American Fire & Casualty Company and Baloise Fire & Marine Insurance Company, Ltd., provided for. primary coverage of losses sustained as set out therein and it also decreed that the policy issued by Allstate Insurance Company provided for excess coverage only as set out therein.

The plaintiff insurance companies perfected an appeal and will be hereafter referred to as appellants. They charge in three separate points that error was com[276]*276mitted (1) because the trial court overruled their motion for an instructed verdict; (2) because the trial court overruled their motion for judgment non obstante veredicto; and (3) because the trial court rendered judgment for the defendants. In each of their three points presented, appellants contend that the uncontroverted evidence showed that Herbert Greenberg had rented the automobile in question from DeWitt Elmore Motors and was so using it at the time of the collision, for which reason they, as a matter of law, were not liable by reason of the provisions of the exclusion clause in their respective policies for losses sustained because the said automobile was rented to another by the insured. In fact, appellants state in their brief that:

“The question for determination by this Court is whether or not the use of the car for cash consideration brings it within the exclusion of the Baloise and Pan American policies which state ‘this policy does not apply to any automobile while rented to others by the named insured.’ ”

In our opinion the controlling questions to be here determined are whether or not the uncontroverted evidence shows that DeWitt Elmore rented the use of the 1953 Ford automobile in question to Plerbert Green-berg for an agreed consideration, as claimed by appellants, and if not, then whether or not the trial court was justified under the record before us in finding and concluding that the said automobile was not rented to Greenberg by Elmore.

Appellants likewise state in their brief that:

“It was the intent of the parties to the insurance contract that automobiles belonging to DeWitt Elmore, the named insured, should be covered while being driven by him or with his permission.”

The jury found that Greenberg had the implied permission of Elmore to drive the Ford in question in making the trip in question and appellants have not attacked or challenged that jury finding and since the issue was submitted without any exceptions or objections of appellants, they waived any right to attack it.

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Bluebook (online)
326 S.W.2d 274, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 1988, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pan-american-fire-casualty-co-v-greenberg-texapp-1959.