Ravenswood Hospital v. Maryland Casualty Co.

203 Ill. App. 343, 1917 Ill. App. LEXIS 239
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 7, 1917
DocketGen. No. 21,736
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 203 Ill. App. 343 (Ravenswood Hospital v. Maryland Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ravenswood Hospital v. Maryland Casualty Co., 203 Ill. App. 343, 1917 Ill. App. LEXIS 239 (Ill. Ct. App. 1917).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice O’Connor

delivered the opinion of the court.

The Ravenswood Hospital brought suit against the Maryland Casualty Company to recover $4,095.19 upon a policy of insurance issued by the defendant. The case was tried before the court without a jury, and judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff for $92.25. Plaintiff prosecutes this appeal, and def,end-ant has assigned cross error.

The facts in the case were stipulated, and so far as material are as follows: Plaintiff was- conducting a hospital in Chicago, and on July 9, 1907, the defendant issued a policy of insurance to the plaintiff in and by which it agreed to indemnify the plaintiff for a period of one year “against loss from the liability imposed by law upon the assured for damages on account of bodily injuries or death suffered by any patient or patients under treatment by the assured, * * * in consequence of any alleged error or mistake or malpractice occurring in the course of said treatment.” . The policy further provided that the defendant company “will defend, at its own cost, in the name and on behalf of the assured, any civil suit or suits for the recovery of damages for such alleged error or mistake or malpractice, subject to the following conditions:” (a) The defendant’s liability for such damages on account of injury or death to one person is limited to $5,000, and the total liability on account of injuries to or death of any number of persons is limited to $10,000; (c) the assured shall give immediate written notice to the defendant of any claim for damages; (d) that if suit is brought to enforce a claim for damages against the assured, it shall immediately notify the defendant, and the defendant will at its own cost defend the suit, in the name and on behalf of the assured, unless it shall elect to pay the claim; (e) the assured shall not without the written consent of the defendant incur any expense or settle any claim, except at its own cost, nor interfere in any negotiations for settlement, nor in any legal proceedings, without the written consent of the defendant.

It further appears that while the policy was in force, a patient was injured while in plaintiff’s hospital, for which suit was brought. There was a verdict in the case for $10,000 in favor of the patient. The court required a remittitur of $2,500, and judgment was entered for $7,500. An appeal was prosecuted to this court, where the judgment was affirmed (Appell v. Ravenswood Hospital, 167 Ill. App. 187), and a writ of certiorari was later denied by the Supreme Court. In that case, the Circuit Court, in allowing the appeal, fixed the bond at $9,000. After the judgment had become final, July 29,1912, the surety on the appeal bond paid the same and took an assignment of the judgment, the amount paid being $8,642.25. This amount was made up of $7,500 principal, $1,125 interest and $17.25 court costs. The surety company, before signing the bond, required the plaintiff to deposit with it collateral security for $3,000, and required the defendant to indemnify the surety company to the extent of $5,000. Upon assignment of the judgment to it, the surety company threatened to issue execution, and demanded that the defendant pay it $5,000 and the plaintiff $3,642.25, which payments were made. The plaintiff paid $2,500 of the judgment, $1,125 interest on the entire judgment pending the appeal, and $17.25 court costs. These are the items plaintiff seeks to recover in this suit, and in addition $75 which it paid the husband of the patient to settle his claim for damages on account of injuries to his wife. The court allowed the plaintiff this $75 and $17.25 court costs, making $92.25 for which judgment was entered, but disallowed the balance of plaintiff’s claim.

Plaintiff first contends that it is entitled to recover the entire amount it paid the surety company, $3,642.24, together with interest thereon from the time of such payment, for the reason that this was the loss sustained by the plaintiff, and was covered by the contract of insurance; that the payment of the $5,000 by the defendant to the surety company was not paid under the policy, but under the provisions of an independent contract between defendant and the surety company while the policy provided that payment should be made to the hospital. It appears that both parties desired to prosecute the appeal, and it was therefore necessary to secure a surety. When the judgment was assigned to the surety company, it could then have enforced it in its entirety against the hospital. Under these circumstances, the defendant paid the $5,000 under the policy, and thereby relieved the hospital to that extent. The contention of the plaintiff is clearly without merit.

Plaintiff next contends that the defendant is liable for interest on the whole of the judgment against the plaintiff from the date of the entry thereof, or at least for the interest paid by the plaintiff on the $5,000, the portion of the judgment paid by the defendant.

In support of this contention it is argued that, by the terms of the policy, the defendant agreed to indemnify the plaintiff against loss from the liability imposed by law on account of bodily injuries to patients, and agreed to defend any litigation arising out of any matters covered by the policy at its own costs, and that the interest which accumulated on the judgment pending the appeal is a part of such costs. To sustain its position in this regard plaintiff cites Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Bowling Green Gas Light Co., 150 Ky. 732, and Century Realty Co. v. Frankfort Marine, Accident & Plate Glass Ins. Co., 179 Mo. App. 123, 161 S. W. 624. In these cases it was held that interest which accumulated on judgments pending appeal could be recovered under policies similar to the one before us, as being part of the costs of the suit.

On the other side, defendant contends that it is not liable under the policy for such interest; that the policy insures “against loss from liability as contra-distinguished to insurance against liabilitythat under such a policy nothing is due until the loss has been paid, and that at or about the time the plaintiff paid its portion of the judgment the defendant paid $5,000 of such judgment and therefore nothing can be recovered in this case. In support of this contention many authorities are cited, among them being the following: Davison v. Maryland Casualty Co., 197 Mass. 167, 83 N. E. 407; Coast Lumber Co. v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 22 Idaho 264, 125 Pac. 185; Puget Sound Imp. Co. v. Frankfort Marine, Accident & Plate Glass Ins. Co., 52 Wash. 124, 100 Pac. 190; Munro v. Maryland Casualty Co., 48 N. Y. Misc. 183, 96 N. Y. Supp. 705; Maryland Casualty Co. v. Omaha Electric Light & Power Co., 157 Fed. 514; Conqueror Zinc & Lead Co. v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 152 Mo. App. 332; United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Maryland Casualty Co., 182 Ill. App. 438; Campbell v. Maryland Casualty Co., 52 Ind. App. 228; Connolly v. Bolster, 187 Mass. 266; Cushman v. Carbondale Fuel Co., 122 Iowa 656; Carter v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 76 Kan. 275, 91 Pac. 178; Frye v. Bath Gas & Electric Co., 97 Me. 241. In each of these cases the policy contained a provision similar to the provision in the policy in this case, and, in addition, a condition that no action should lie against the company for any loss, unless brought to reimburse the assured “for loss actually sustained and paid by him in satisfaction of a judgment, after trial of the issues.” The Davison case, supra, is typical of all the authorities cited by the defendant.

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Bluebook (online)
203 Ill. App. 343, 1917 Ill. App. LEXIS 239, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ravenswood-hospital-v-maryland-casualty-co-illappct-1917.