Resta Corp. v. Childers

403 So. 2d 904, 1981 Ala. LEXIS 3711
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedAugust 21, 1981
Docket80-390
StatusPublished

This text of 403 So. 2d 904 (Resta Corp. v. Childers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Resta Corp. v. Childers, 403 So. 2d 904, 1981 Ala. LEXIS 3711 (Ala. 1981).

Opinion

JONES, Justice.

This is a contest over the distribution of the proceeds of a property damage insurance policy between the lessor and lessee of a warehouse.

In July of 1976, Appellee John Childers, through the efforts of his real estate agent, leased an empty warehouse to Appellant Resta Corporation. With regard to insurance coverage for the premises, the lease provided:

“5. [Lessee] will be responsible for any injury to any person or persons in or about the demised premises, and it agrees to indemnify Lessor against all claims and judgments for loss, damage or injury to property or persons resulting by reason of Lessee’s use and occupanc[y] of the demised premises. Lessee shall obtain liability insurance in the amount of One Hundred Fifty Thousand and No/100 ($150,000.00) Dollars and property damage insurance in the amount of Fifty Thousand and No/100 ($50,000.00) Dollars naming Lessor as co-insured, and submit to Lessor a duplicate insurance policy or certificates certifying same.
“22. It is understood and agreed that lessee shall obtain fire and extended insurance on the premises and the name of the Lessor shall appear as party in interest. Insurance coverage shall be in the amount of Fifty Thousand and No/100 ($50,000.00) Dollars for the building. Lessee shall furnish a copy of said policy to the Lessor.

Lessee’s insurance agent was provided a copy of the lease and was requested to prepare an insurance policy to comply with the terms of the lease. Lessor received a letter from Lessee’s insurance agent, which stated in part:

“We have bound effective 8/11/76 a new multi-peril package policy through the Home Insurance Company covering 601 Holmes Avenue N. W. for Robert Res-ta/Resta Corporation d/b/a Resta & Associates. The amount of this coverage is $50,000.00 on the building and $300,000.00 personal liability . . .
“Your interest as lessor is covered in the policy for insurance on the building. As soon as the policy is received we will send you a copy of it... ”

Copies of this letter were sent to both Lessee and Lessor’s real estate agent. The “multi-peril package” referred to in the insurance agent’s letter consisted of coverage for “Business Personal Property” and “Building(s).” “Provisions applicable to Sections I, II and III” were attached to the first page of the policy as was an “Additional Perils Endorsement” applicable to Coverage A and B (A and B being the general terms, “Business Personal Property” and “Building(s)”). The pertinent portion of that endorsement states:

“PERILS INSURED AGAINST
“11. Weight of Ice, Snow or Sleet which results in physical injury to the building^) covered or containing the property covered, but excluding loss, except as the direct result of the collapse of a building^) to awnings, gutters, downspouts, outdoor radio and televisions antennas and aerials, including their lead-in wiring, masts and towers, outdoor signs, fences, swimming pools, walks, roadways or other paved surfaces, curbs, piers, bulkheads, wharves or docks, beach or diving platforms or appurtenances, retaining walls not constituting a part of the building(s), or outdoor equipment whether such property is specifically described in the Declarations or not.”

During the 2V2 years following the execution of the lease for the warehouse, Lessee made several changes and installations to better equip the building for its printing business.

On January 1, 1979, the roof of the warehouse collapsed under a weight of ice and snow, damaging both the building and Les[906]*906see’s personal business property. Lessee received $250,000.00 under the “Business Personal Property” provisions of the insurance policy, but estimates its total loss to be between $540,000.00 and $550,000.00. The insurance Company also issued a check in the amount of $45,439.93 payable jointly to Lessor and Lessee for “property damage” under the “Building(s)” terms of the insurance policy (the $50,000.00 coverage less expenditures for debris removal).

Lessor claims the proceeds of the $45,-439.93 check on the basis of paragraphs 5 and 22 (quoted above) of the lease and the provisions of the insurance policy which indicate Lessor as the insured party in interest.

Lessee maintains, however, that the “additional perils endorsement,” the only portion of the policy providing coverage for damage due to snow and ice accumulation, was purchased by Lessee on its own initiative and for its own protection and was not required ny the “extended insurance” terms of the lease.

No agreement could be reached as to the disbursement of the funds. The check, therefore, was endorsed by both parties and deposited with the Circuit Court of Madison County and a declaratory judgment action was instituted by Lessor.

After a hearing ore tenus, the trial court, finding that Lessor is entitled to the insurance proceeds, stated in part:

“The lease requires both property damage insurance (paragraph five) and fire and extended insurance (paragraph twenty-two). It is the opinion of the court that these two phrases, when read in conjunction with each other, require insurance protection from property damage caused by the weight of ice and snow.
“The actions of the parties, and particularly of [Lessee], subsequent to the lease agreement are in accord with this interpretation. The lease required [Lessee] to send to [Lessor] a copy of the policy purchased for [Lessor’s] protection. The copy sent to [Lessor] provides coverage for the snow and ice damage suffered. The amount of coverage for building damage caused by snow and ice is $50,-000.00. This amount coincides with the amount required by the lease. [Lessee’s] intention to comply with the lease by providing protection against snow and ice damage is further evidenced by the letter of its [insurance] agent. . ., sent to [Lessor] with the insurance policy. [The agent] assures [Lessor] that his ‘interest as lessor is covered by the policy of insurance on the building.’ He further described the policy as being a ‘multi-peril package.’ Nowhere does he inform [Lessor] as he could have if that had been [Lessee’s] interpretation, that not all of the perils insured against and set out in the policy were insured for [Lessor’s] benefit.

This appeal followed.

Citing Murray v. Webster, 256 Ala. 248, 54 So.2d 505 (1951), and Bell v. Barefield, 219 Ala. 319, 122 So. 318 (1929), Lessee summarizes its primary contention:

“The general rule ... is, in the absence of anything in the instrument creating the estate, or of agreement to that effect, between the parties, no duty rests upon the one or the other to insure for the benefit of a remainderman . . ., and insurance taken by one with an insurable interest in the property who pays the premiums thereon out of his own funds, is a personal indemnity to the insured .. . . ” [Emphasis in brief.]

Lessor answers:

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Related

Marcrum v. Embry
282 So. 2d 49 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1973)
Murray v. Webster
54 So. 2d 505 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1951)
Charles H. McCauley Associates v. Snook
339 So. 2d 1011 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1976)
Bell v. Barefield
122 So. 318 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1929)

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Bluebook (online)
403 So. 2d 904, 1981 Ala. LEXIS 3711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/resta-corp-v-childers-ala-1981.