Sawyer v. Shelter Insurance Companies

702 So. 2d 29, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2477, 1997 WL 674902
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 29, 1997
DocketNo. 29980-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 702 So. 2d 29 (Sawyer v. Shelter Insurance Companies) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sawyer v. Shelter Insurance Companies, 702 So. 2d 29, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2477, 1997 WL 674902 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

hGASKINS, Judge.

The plaintiff, Vernon Sawyer d/b/a Vernon Sawyer Farms, appeals from a trial court judgment rejecting his claim for payment of insurance proceeds from the defendant, Shel-tér Mutual Insurance Company (Shelter),1 for damage to an irrigation system on his farm. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court judgment.

FACTS

The irrigation system on the plaintiff’s Morehouse Parish farm had a center post with an arm extending outward approximately}! mile. The arm had wheels that allowed it to travel around the center post, irrigating the field in a circular pattern. The plaintiff had previously planted cotton in the field, but in 1995, he planted corn, which required higher and stiffer rows. In late May or early June 1995, the plaintiff turned on the irrigation system for the first time that season and set it to run overnight. When he returned the next morning, he discovered that the system was damaged and was not functioning. One of the wheels could not roll over a high corn row, causing the arm to bend in a V-shape and to cease functioning.

The plaintiff had a contract of insurance with Shelter, covering the farm and specifically including the irrigation equipment. The plaintiff obtained an estimate of $5,998.96 to repair the system and made a claim upon Shelter for payment for the repairs. The insurance company refused to pay the claim, arguing that the irrigation system was not covered by the overturn and collision clause of the policy which provides as follows:

We will pay for loss or damage to farm personal property while in or on a vehicle or vehicles covered under this policy as a result of the overturn of the vehicle or collision with another object or upset of carrying conveyance.

|2The term “collision” is not defined in the policy. Shelter argued that the irrigation system did not suffer a collision or upset, but was damaged when the wheel could not negotiate the row and began spinning and slipping. Therefore, the defendant contended that the damage was not covered by the policy.

The plaintiff filed suit against Shelter on July 12, 1995. A bench trial on the matter was held on January 30, 1997. The parties do not dispute that the collision or upset clause of the insurance contract is the applicable provision in this case. The plaintiff argued at trial that when the wheel of the system came into contact with the corn row, that constituted a “collision” within the terms of the policy.

The defendant maintained that the wheel encountered the corn row and began to slip or spin, and could not get over the row, causing the damage. According to the defendant, this problem was exacerbated by the muddy condition created by the irrigation water. The defendant contended that if the plaintiff had operated the system without water first, the wheels would have made a track on which to run when the water was turned on and the system would have been able to roll over the corn row.

In reasons for judgment, the trial court stated that it examined the photographs of the damaged system which were taken within a few weeks of the time the damage occurred. Under the terms of the policy, the court found that the plaintiff was covered for a collision, even at a low speed, but found that no collision occurred in this case. The court found that the wheel started spinning and could not get over the row and the damage was caused by slippage and not by a collision. A judgment was signed on February 10, 1997 rejecting the plaintiff’s claims. [31]*31The plaintiff devolutively appealed the trial court judgment.

J3COLLISION

The plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in finding that the damage to his irrigation system did not fall within the meaning of “overturn, upset or collision” which the policy insures against. The plaintiff notes that the insurance policy does not define “upset” or “collision,” cites various provision of the Louisiana Civil Code on contract interpretation and then argues that because the definitions of “upset” and “collision” are ambiguous, they must be construed against the insurer who drafted the contract. These arguments are without merit.

Legal Principles

An insurance policy is a contract between the parties and should be construed using general rules of interpretation of contracts set forth in the Louisiana Civil Code. Valentine v. Bonneville Insurance Company, 96-1382 (La.1997), 691 So.2d 665; Collinsworth v. Foster, 28,671 (La.App.2d Cir. 9/25/96), 680 So.2d 1275. If the wording of the policy at issue is clear and expresses the intent of the parties, the agreement must be enforced as written. Valentine v. Bonneville Insurance Company, supra. The parties’ intent, as reflected by the words of the policy, determines the extent of coverage and such intent is to be determined in accordance with the general, ordinary, plain, and popular meaning of the words used in the policy, unless the words have acquired technical meaning. Valentine v. Bonneville Insurance Company, supra. An insurance policy should not be interpreted in an unreasonable or strained manner so as to enlarge or to restrict its provisions beyond what is reasonably contemplated by its terms so as to achieve absurd conclusions. Valentine v. Bonneville Insurance Company, supra; Collinsworth v. Foster, supra. If ambiguity still remains after applying other general rules of construction, ambiguous provisions are to be | construed against the insurer and in favor of the insured. Valentine v. Bonneville Insurance Company, supra; Collinsworth v. Foster, supra.

The plaintiff does not really contend that the system overturned or was upset and there is nothing in the record to indicate that any piece of the machine fell onto the ground. The issue is whether the plaintiff is correct in arguing that a wheel of the system “collided” with the row, resulting in damage to the machine. The definition of the term “collision” appears to be construed most often in the context of automobile insurance policies. In Albritton v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, 224 La. 522, 70 So.2d 111 (1953), the Louisiana Supreme Court considered whether a collision occurred within the terms of an automobile insurance policy where the rear wheels of a dump truck came loose and the chassis of the vehicle struck the pavement. The court set forth several definitions of the word “collision” as follows:

‘Collision’ which is generally defined as ‘ the state of having collided’ is a word of broad import; ‘to strike or dash against , each other’; ‘to come violently into contact’; ‘encounter with a shock’. See Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2nd Ed., Unabridged and The New Century Dictionary, Vol. I. Thus the noun ‘collision’, according to lexicographers, is ‘striking together’ or ‘striking against’ and, in construing insurance policies of this sort, many of the courts have applied this definition.

The court found that the definition of the word “collision” was broad enough to encompass a sudden and violent striking of the rear portion of the vehicle with the pavement and found that the damage was covered by the insurance policy.

Similarly, in Manard Molasses Company v. Sun Insurance Office, Limited, 170 So.2d 691 (La.App.

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Related

Collinsworth v. Foster
680 So. 2d 1275 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
Barnard v. Houston Fire & Casualty Insurance Co.
81 So. 2d 132 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1955)
Albritton v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co.
70 So. 2d 111 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1953)
Valentine v. Bonneville Ins. Co.
691 So. 2d 665 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1997)
Chandler v. &198tna Ins. Co.
188 So. 506 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1939)
Brown v. Union Indemnity Co.
105 So. 918 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1925)
Haik v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.
130 So. 118 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1930)
Manard Molasses Co. v. Sun Insurance Office, Ltd.
170 So. 2d 691 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1965)
Puckett v. Carolina Casualty Insurance
408 So. 2d 23 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1981)

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Bluebook (online)
702 So. 2d 29, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2477, 1997 WL 674902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sawyer-v-shelter-insurance-companies-lactapp-1997.