Rainey-Mapes v. Queen Charters, Inc.

729 S.W.2d 907
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 25, 1987
Docket04-85-00424-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 729 S.W.2d 907 (Rainey-Mapes v. Queen Charters, Inc.) 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
Rainey-Mapes v. Queen Charters, Inc., 729 S.W.2d 907 (Tex. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

CANTU, Justice.

This case involves appeals and cross-appeals arising from the non-payment of an insurance claim. William Gordon, president of Queen Charters, Inc., individually and as co-principal with Queen Charters, Inc. contracted to purchase a sailboat from the Estate of Theodore Schmidt (Schmidt) intervenor/appellant/cross-appellee. The boat, valued at $150,000.00, was purchased for $100,000.00. Gordon and Queen Charters (Gordon/Queen Charters) plaintiffs/appellants/cross-appellees, paid $5,000.00 down payment on the boat, and executed a promissory note to Schmidt for the balance of $95,000.00. The sales agreement required the buyers to maintain insurance on the vessel, which protected Schmidt as the loss payee.

*909 Gordon contacted the Sanger & Altgelt Insurance Agency (Sanger) defendant/appellant/cross-appellee to procure the required insurance. Sanger, acting as an agent for Gordon/Queen Charters, contacted Rainey-Mapes, defendant/appellant/cross-appellee, an insurance broker, to obtain the insurance as Sanger does not normally handle maritime insurance. Rai-ney-Mapes contacted Southern Maritime Underwriters Limited who in turn contacted the Colony Insurance Company. Colony ultimately issued the insurance policy to Gordon/Queen Charters. Southern and Colony were defendants in the trial below, but are not involved in this appeal.

Gordon/Queen Charters closed the sale of the vessel with Schmidt on February 25, 1983. Prior to the closing, Gordon/Queen Charters contacted Sanger concerning the insurance policy issued by Colony and inquired whether there were any territorial restrictions. Gordon/Queen Charters received an insurance binder on February 18, 1983, prepared by Sanger which stated that the insurance coverage would take effect on February 25, 1983. The binder did not contain any territorial exclusions.

At the closing, Gordon/Queen Charters and Schmidt talked via telephone with Susan Johnson, an employee of Sanger, who told them that coverage was in effect for Gordon/Queen Charters’ contemplated voyage from St. Thomas, V.I. (where the closing took place) to Galveston, Texas. No mention of territorial exclusions was made and the parties understood that Johnson had the policy in hand at the time of the conversation.

Sanger received the actual insurance policy on March 1, 1983. Gordon departed from St. Thomas on March 2, 1983. While en route, the sailboat struck a reef off the coast of the Dominican Republic and sank. Gordon notified Sanger of the loss. Sanger in turn contacted Rainey-Mapes. Rai-ney-Mapes informed Sanger that the policy excluded coverage while the vessel was in the waters of the Dominican Republic, and that, therefore, Gordon/Queen Charters’ loss was not covered. Colony ultimately denied coverage based upon this territorial exclusion.

Sanger, Gordon and Queen Charters filed suit against Rainey-Mapes, Colony and Southern alleging actions for breach of the insurance contract, for violations of the Texas Insurance Code and under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Schmidt intervened seeking to recover on the $95,-000.00 note executed by Gordon/Queen Charters. Schmidt also sought to recover punitive damages from Sanger, as a third party beneficiary of the insurance policy, for misrepresentations concerning insurance coverage on the sailboat and for Sanger’s failure to obtain coverage without territorial restrictions. Rainey-Mapes filed a cross-action against Sanger, Southern and Colony seeking indemnity or contribution.

The trial court realigned the parties positioning Gordon and Queen Charters as plaintiffs and Southern, Colony, Rainey-Mapes and Sanger as the defendants. Sanger then filed cross-actions against the other defendants for contribution or indemnity-

In response to special issues, the jury found that Sanger made misrepresentations to Schmidt concerning the terms of the insurance policy which had been issued, and that such misrepresentations were a producing cause of Schmidt’s damages. The jury also found that Rainey-Mapes made misrepresentations to Gordon/Queen Charters, and that Rainey-Mapes’ conduct was a producing cause of Gordon/Queen Charters’ damages. Negligence in procuring an insurance policy free of territorial exclusions was attributed 40% to Sanger and 60% to Rainey-Mapes.

A final judgment was entered on April 22, 1985. The trial court granted Schmidt a directed verdict against Gordon/Queen Charters on the note plus interest and attorneys fees. Judgment was rendered in favor of Gordon and Queen Charters and against Rainey-Mapes in the amount of $55,000.00. Additionally, judgment was *910 rendered in favor of Schmidt and against Sanger for $95,000.00. These amounts were doubled pursuant to the Texas Insurance Code. As the jury found that 30% of the misrepresentations concerning the policy terms were attributable to Rainey-Mapes and 70% to Sanger, attorneys fees were awarded to Gordon/Queen Charters and Schmidt.

Rainey-Mapes, as appellant, asserts in its first three points of error that, because Gordon/Queen Charters assigned its cause of action to Sanger, there was no party before the court for whom judgment against Rainey-Mapes, could be entered. It further argues that permitting Gordon/Queen Charters to recover against Rainey-Mapes results in indemnifying or contributing to Sanger on its liability in that Sanger would enforce its assignment by proceeding against Gordon/Queen Charters upon Rainey-Mapes’ payment of the judgment. Alternatively, Rainey-Mapes alleges that Sanger’s settlement with Gordon/Queen Charters was a compromise which extinguished Gordon/Queen Charters’ cause of action or that the cause of action is defeated by the greater liability on Sanger’s part.

The assignment or agreement was not admitted into evidence, although Rainey-Mapes did offer it twice. The trial court did, however, permit questions concerning the agreement. During cross-examination of Gordon by Colony, the following colloquy occurred concerning the agreement:

Q.: You didn’t sue Sanger Altgelt, did you?
A.: I didn’t.
Q.: All right. And, in fact, you reached an agreement with them, didn’t you, pri- or to coming in here to trial?
A.: Yes, I did.
Q.: In fact, you reached an agreement whereby they agreed to pay you a certain amount of money, didn’t they?
A.: I guess you can say that under certain conditions.
Q.: And they agreed to pay for all of your attorney’s fees, didn’t they?
A.: I think that is include (sic) in the agreement.
Q.: And didn’t they stipulate in that agreement that they misrepresented the terms of the policy to you?
[Objection.]
Q.: And under the terms of this agreement, sir, you assigned your claim to them, didn’t you?
A.: I think that would be correct, yeah. Q.: Didn’t you agree to cooperate with them in the prosecution of their claim? A.: I did.

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Bluebook (online)
729 S.W.2d 907, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rainey-mapes-v-queen-charters-inc-texapp-1987.