Segall v. Ohio Casualty Co.

272 N.W. 665, 224 Wis. 379, 110 A.L.R. 82, 1937 Wisc. LEXIS 119
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 7, 1937
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 272 N.W. 665 (Segall v. Ohio Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Segall v. Ohio Casualty Co., 272 N.W. 665, 224 Wis. 379, 110 A.L.R. 82, 1937 Wisc. LEXIS 119 (Wis. 1937).

Opinion

Fairchild, J.

It is plaintiffs’ first contention that by the terms of secs. 204.33 (2) and 204.34 (2), Stats., they are entitled to recover upon the policy issued by the defendant to Charles Segall regardless of the rule recognized in Wick v. Wick, 192 Wis. 260, 212 N. W. 787, that a child may not recover from a parent for personal injuries caused by [381]*381the parent’s negligence. The statutory provision identical in each subsection is as follows :

“No policy of insurance [or] agreement of indemnity . . . shall exclude from the coverage afforded or the provisions as to the benefits therein provided persons related by blood or marriage to the assured.”

Plaintiffs contend that the prohibition against exclusion from the benefits of a policy of persons related to the assured evidences a legislative intent to expand this type of policy beyond that of mere liability or indemnity and to make it in this situation, at least to a limited degree, an accident policy. Thus, if this position be sound, the fact that a child is precluded from recovering damages against its parent for negligence because of relationship cannot be relied upon as a defense upon the policy because expressly made immaterial by the above provision. The words of the statute are not susceptible of the broad interpretation given tO' them by the plaintiffs, and it is clear that the contract of insurance is in terms an indemnity or liability policy predicated upon the assumption that either the assured or such person as may be covered by an omnibus clause has sustained a liability to the person seeking to recover for injuries. Since there is no question concerning the scope of the policy, it is not necessary to labor this point. The only question is whether the statute has amplified the policy. On this point, we think the plaintiffs’ contentions to be without merit. The differences between liability or indemnity insurance and mere accident insurance are fundamental and marked. This distinction existed in the insurance world long before statutes assümed to regulate the subject of liability insurance. An examination into the history of our statutes dealing with liability insurance compels the conclusion that however much the contract has been modified or the liability broadened, the statutes have consistently dealt with such contracts as liability policies, [382]*382and there is no point in that history at which there can be said to have been a departure from this general statutory attitude. The difference being so marked between liability and indemnity insurance on the one hand and various types of accident insurance on the other, one would normally expect a transition from one form to the other by statutory mandate to be clothed with unmistakable language. A brief review of the statutory history indicates no such legislative purpose. The first statutory regulation of any importance followed the case of Glatz v. General Acc., F. & L. Assur. Corp. 175 Wis. 42, 183 N. W. 683. In that case plaintiff had judgment against the tort-feasor, but before the judgment could be perfected, assured had been adjudicated a bankrupt. The policy contained a no-action clause which conditioned the liability of the insurance company upon actual loss by the insured arising out of payment of a judgment in money. Plaintiff sought by garnishment in aid of execution to recover the amount of the judgment from the insurer, and it was held in this court that, the policy being one of liability against actual loss, the insurer sustained no obligation to the tort-feasor until the latter had discharged the judgment. To prevent a recurrence of this situation, secs. 204.30 and 85.25, Stats. 1925, were enacted. In substance, liability insurance policies were required to contain, (1) a clause to the effect that the insolvency or bankruptcy of the assured would not release the insurer from liability; (2) an omnibus coverage clause to the effect that every policy shall contain provisions extending the coverage applicable to- the named assured to any person riding in or operating the automobile of the assured described in the policy with the consent of the latter; (3) provisions to the effect that the insurer shall be liable to the persons entitled to a recovery of damages arising out of the negligent operation of the described vehicle. All of these statutory enactments indicate a purpose to eliminate certain types of defenses theretofore available to the insurance company and in effect to create a direct liability by permitting the [383]*383insurance company to be made a party defendant. As in all new statutory provisions, some questions were raised concerning the precise effect of these statutes, and various amendments further to evidence the legislative intent were enacted. Thus, in 1929, the legislature amended sec. 85.25 and renumbered it sec.-85.93. Chs. 454, 467, Laws of 1929. It read:

“Any bond or policy of insurance covering liability to others by reason of the operation of a motor vehicle shall be deemed and construed to contain the following conditions: That the insurer shall be liable to the persons entitled to recover for the death of any person, or for injury to person or property, irrespective of whether such liability be in praesenti or contingent and to become fixed or certain by final judgment against the insured, when caused by the negligent operation, maintenance, use or defective construction of the vehicle described therein, such liability not to exceed the amount named in said bond or policy.”

This amendment was for the purpose of putting to rest a previous question whether there was any distinction under the statutes between liability and indemnity policies. In all of these statutory provisions it will be noticed that nothing was done that in any way sought to change the character of this insurance. AH'of the provisions had for their purpose making the insurance available conveniently to^ one who had a tort claim against the assured, but all the changes proceed upon the assumption that such a claim is essential to the operation of the policy. It appears to us that this conclusion survives the subsequent statutory changes as well. For example, it had been held that insurers were not proper parties defendant to an action by an injured party where the contract provided that no action should be brought against the insurer prior to a determination of the liability of the assured. Morgan v. Hunt, 196 Wis. 298, 220 N. W. 224. After the amendment in 1929 of sec. 85.25, it was found that the insurer might still limit the amount of its liability and prescribe the conditions upon which its liability should arise. [384]*384Bergstein v. Popkin, 202 Wis. 625, 233 N. W. 572. In 1931, the legislature amended sec. 260.11 (1) and added sec. 260.11 (2), in order to meet the situation pointed out by the two cases last cited, and this amendment was held in Lang v. Baumann, 213 Wis. 258, 251 N. W. 461, to have changed the doctrine of the Bergstein and Morgan Cases and to provide that the insurer might be joined even where there was a no-action clause. It will be seen that up to and including 1931, the year in which the last-named change took place, the assumption on which all of the statutes have gone is, (1) that assured has sustained a liability, and (2) that he has a liability or indemnity policy payable only if this liability is established. This was the assumption and holding of several cases up to 1931. In Fanslau v. Federal Mutual A. Ins. Co. 194 Wis. 8, 215 N. W.

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

Related

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Kelly
389 N.W.2d 838 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1986)
Campbell v. Gruttemeyer
432 S.W.2d 894 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1968)
Capital Insurance & Surety Co. v. Kelly
361 F.2d 567 (Ninth Circuit, 1966)
Schwenkhoff v. Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance
104 N.W.2d 154 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1960)
Ball Ex Rel. Ball v. Ball
269 P.2d 302 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1954)
Kreuger v. Schmiechen
264 S.W.2d 311 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1954)
Baker Ex Rel. Baker v. Baker
263 S.W.2d 29 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1953)
Fidelity Savings Bank v. Aulik
32 N.W.2d 613 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1948)
Fehr v. General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corp.
16 N.W.2d 787 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1944)
Lasecki v. Kabara
294 N.W. 33 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1940)
Munsert v. Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance
281 N.W. 671 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1939)
Hardware Mutual Casualty Co. v. Milwaukee Automobile Insurance
282 N.W. 27 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1938)
Rambo v. Rambo
114 S.W.2d 468 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1938)
Fitzgerald v. Milwaukee Automobile Insurance
277 N.W. 183 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
272 N.W. 665, 224 Wis. 379, 110 A.L.R. 82, 1937 Wisc. LEXIS 119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/segall-v-ohio-casualty-co-wis-1937.