Reiling v. Missouri Insurance Co.

153 S.W.2d 79, 236 Mo. App. 164, 1941 Mo. App. LEXIS 80
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 16, 1941
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 153 S.W.2d 79 (Reiling v. Missouri Insurance Co.) 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
Reiling v. Missouri Insurance Co., 153 S.W.2d 79, 236 Mo. App. 164, 1941 Mo. App. LEXIS 80 (Mo. Ct. App. 1941).

Opinion

*170 BLAND, J.

This is an action for damages for personal injuries. There was a verdict and judgment in favor of plaintiff in the sum of $6000. Both of the defendants filed motions for a new trial. Krueger’s motion was overruled, but the court sustained the motion of the Missouri Insurance Company, on the ground that it should have given its instruction in the nature of a demurrer to the evidence offered at the close of all of the testimony. The plaintiff has appealed.

The facts show that plaintiff was injured in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 15, 1938, when a motorcycle he was operating northwardly on Waterway Drive came into collision with an automobile owned by the defendant Krueger, at the intersection of Waterway Drive and Nebraska Avenue. For the purposes of the case was may assume that the collision was caused by the negligence of Krueger. The Company is sought to be held on the theory that the relationship of respondeat superior existed between it and its co-defendant. This will involve a statement as to the relationship between the two.

On this question the evidence is undisputed and shows that the company is engaged in the insurance business, selling life, health and accident policies on the industrial or weekly payment plan, with its principal offices in the City of St. Louis, and with a branch office in Kansas City, Missouri. It also issued ordinary life insurance policies. Claims for health and accident benefits are paid weekly in cash. Policyholders are grouped geographically in what is called a debit, and collections are made from such policyholders weekly by a representative of the company. These representatives are called debit collectors. When a debit collector starts to work he is assigned a debit or group of policyholders from whom weekly collections are made. The debit collector can increase ,the debit by writing new business and, at the time weekly collections of premiums are made, he pays in cash weekly benefits on health and accident policies to the policyholders in the debit.

Krueger was a debit collector and had been connected with the company for a number of years prior to the collision. His agreement with the company was not in writing. It was partly verbal but, for the most part, it can be gleaned from the conduct of the company and Krueger in the prosecution of the business. He entered the employment of the company,' at its branch office in Kansas City, Missouri, and was given a book containing the names of a number of the company’s policy holders, or a debit, which covered a district in Kansas City, Kansas. He was also given a “collection book, premium receipt books, claim blanks, premium receipts, envelopes for policies and policies. ’ ’

*171 The Company’s branch office in Kansas City, Missouri, was in charge of one Leftwick, superintendent. He had nine men, including Krueger, under his supervision. Leftwick, a witness for plaintiff, testified: “Q. Do you tell the agents how to do their work? A. Well, I give them instructions when I first introduce them. Q. Well, as to what to do or how to do it? A. As to what to do,” (Italics ours.) Krueger’s compensation for making collections was entirely on a commission basis. In addition to collecting premiums Krueger also solicited applications for insurance for both industrial policies and for ordinary life. He could solicit insurance not only in the territory of his debit but elsewhere. He received a regular commission for obtaining ordinary life policies and he obtained an increase in his compensation if he increased the amount of his weekly collections on industrial insurance.

Krueger was not given any directions or instructions in regard to making collections. He used his “own method.” Leftwick testified: “We presume the man knows how to make his collections. We just let him use his own way in making his collections as long as it is within the law, legally. Q. Well, you do make suggestions to him, do you not ? A. If there is anything out of the way, we do; ” that when one of the company’s debit agents goes on a vacation, or is off of his debit, for as much as a week or ten days, the witness, himself, takes his place; that Krueger is required to go over his district at least once a week, but he can put in as many hours or as few as he pleases. After he leaves the office in Kansas City, Missouri, he does not have to report back at all. No one tells him in what order to call.upon his customers and he arranges his work so that it will be most convenient to him. He does not have' to report with respect as to how he spends his time and whether he works evenings or not, is his own business. The better he keeps his debit up the more profit there is in it for him; that “the general idea of an insurance man is, he writes his own check; in other words, the harder he works the more he gets paid and the more he produces the more he gets paid on it; ” that it is the duty of Krueger to pay claims when instructed by his superior and to inspect claims. He is instructed to inspect claims only occasionally and the inspecting of claims is for the purpose of ‘ ‘ determining if it is a legitimate claim.” . . . “Q. And that is sometimes done by agents such as Mr. Krueger under direction during the — upon the instruction of the manager of the district? . . . “There is no question about that, is there? A. Really the manager just asks the agent if they will inspect it for him. ’ ’ The claims are passed on by the manager of the district and the ngent makes the payments of them most of the time. The agent is authorized to make such payments. It is an advantage to the agent to pay claims. It makes it easier to collect from a policyholder who is being paid a claim. These payments are ordinarily made in cash and are frequently met out of the agent’s *172 daily collections. On rare occasions the company gets in touch with-Krueger when he is out in his “field” and when that happens the company says to him, “here is a claim, see what you can do with it,” and he makes such an inspection as he finds necessary and follows the orders of his superior “to that extent.” All of these things are a part of Krueger’s regular duties but he receives no compensation for inspecting and paying claims. When his superior hands him a claim to inspect he does not tell him how to inspect it, but to use his “own judgment.” The agent does no work other than collect premiums and write additional insurance except when instructed by his manager. The company instructed Krueger and the other debit agents to report each morning at its office in Kansas City, Missouri. It is the primary purpose of these meetings, except those occurring on Friday and Saturday, to afford a means for the agents to turn in any extra cash that they do not want to carry with them, to report the collections that they have made and to report the claims that they have paid, to obtain new policies for which they have previously sent in applications, to file applications for new insurance which they have written and to receive any claims that are to be paid. All this is a part of the duties of the agents. The meetings held on Friday mornings are for the purpose of having the agents make their weekly report on what is called their “account sheet.” At these Friday morning meetings the agents make their actual report of what they have done the previous week. A formal report of the policies collected on is made, the ones which have lapsed and an accounting is made of the money collected and paid out.

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

Related

George T. Pyle and Shirley J. Pyle v. United States
827 F.2d 360 (Eighth Circuit, 1987)
Roselyn Robbins and Jeffrey Robbins v. United States
722 F.2d 387 (Eighth Circuit, 1984)
Robbins v. United States
553 F. Supp. 598 (E.D. Missouri, 1982)
Thompson v. St. Joseph Country Club
632 S.W.2d 6 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1982)
United States v. Betty Fuller Farmer
400 F.2d 107 (Eighth Circuit, 1968)
Jokisch v. Life & Casualty Insurance Co. of Tennessee
424 S.W.2d 111 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1967)
Bissell v. McElligott
248 F. Supp. 219 (W.D. Missouri, 1965)
Usrey v. Dr. Pepper Bottling Company
385 S.W.2d 335 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1964)
Pigg v. Bridges
352 S.W.2d 28 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1961)
Philabert v. Frazier
51 So. 2d 381 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1950)
Kershner v. Commissioner
14 T.C. 168 (U.S. Tax Court, 1950)
United States v. Eleazer
177 F.2d 914 (Fourth Circuit, 1949)
Bell v. Commissioner
13 T.C. 344 (U.S. Tax Court, 1949)
Gulf Life Insurance Co. v. McDaniel
43 S.E.2d 784 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1947)
Smith Ex Rel. Smith v. Fine
175 S.W.2d 761 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1943)
Luquire Ins. Co. v. McCalla
13 So. 2d 865 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1943)
Douglas v. National Life & Accident Insurance Co. of Nashville
155 S.W.2d 267 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1941)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
153 S.W.2d 79, 236 Mo. App. 164, 1941 Mo. App. LEXIS 80, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reiling-v-missouri-insurance-co-moctapp-1941.