Shelby Mutual Insurance Company v. Wilson

383 S.W.2d 791, 53 Tenn. App. 428, 1964 Tenn. App. LEXIS 111
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedApril 23, 1964
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 383 S.W.2d 791 (Shelby Mutual Insurance Company v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shelby Mutual Insurance Company v. Wilson, 383 S.W.2d 791, 53 Tenn. App. 428, 1964 Tenn. App. LEXIS 111 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinions

AVERY, P.J., (W.S.).

This case originated in the Circuit Court of Hawkins County, Tennessee. E. L. Wilson and wife Evelyn Wilson were the plaintiffs below, and Shelby Mutual Insurance Company was defendant. The parties will be referred to with the status they each occupied in the Court below, except where referred to by name.

Plaintiffs seek to recover value of furniture, appliances etc. insured by defendant under a “Home-owners policy”, against loss by fire etc. At the time the contract was procured on October 1, 1961, it was for a term of three years, and the plaintiffs then lived in Greeneville, Tennessee. In September of 1962 the plaintiffs moved to Bogersville, Tennessee, and took practically all their furniture etc. with them. Their first move to Bogersville was to a house on McKinney Avenue inside the city limits. In December of 1962 they moved from within the corporate limits of Bogersville to a house owned by one Mrs. Annie White, the lot of which was just outside, but adjoined the city limits, carrying their furniture with [431]*431them. This Annie White house was destroyed by fire on January 10, 1963, and their furniture was completely destroyed.

While the plaintiffs lived in Grreeneville, Tennessee, and when they procured the insurance contract involved herein on their furniture, their home etc. they also operated a business in Rogersville, Tennessee. They continued to own the dwelling and other real estate in Grreeneville, Tennessee. The Annie White house into which the plaintiffs had moved with their furniture was located at Rogersville, R.F.D. 1.

At the time this fire destroyed the furniture involved, the fire department of the City of Rogersville was called, but because the house was outside the corporate limits the fire department declined to make any effort to put out this fire.

Due notice was given to the defendant of the destruction of this furniture and inventory with value, but defendant declined to pay for same, and it declined to pay the loss because the property was not located on the premises described in the original insurance contract at the time it was destroyed, but admitted liability for $1,000 under a provision in the policy which insured ‘ ‘ off premises property” to that amount.

The plaintiff contended that it had given the insurance agent from whom it had procured this contract, one James H. Rader, the knowledge of the fact that its unscheduled property insured had been moved to Rogers-ville, Tennessee, and that it had given the agent and others connected with the company knowledge of the fact that after they first moved to Rogersville, Tennessee, they again moved to Annie White place in Rogers-[432]*432ville by virtue of the fact that in moving the furniture etc. to this Annie White house, a piano was dislodged from the moving van in route, damaged considerably, and a claim for that piano damage had been filed through agent Rader, who had also given that knowledge to others who were employed by the insurance company, and that the insurance company had declined to pay that damage because damaged in transit other than "a named peril” not covered by the policy, and therefore had information that the furniture was being moved from the first location where it was placed in Rogersville to the location where destroyed by fire.

The case was tried before the Honorable John R. Todd, Circuit Judge, to a jury. There was a verdict for plaintiffs in the amount of $7,215.12, which was approved by the Court. Defendant saved exceptions. Judgment was rendered therefor after Court overruled motion for new trial. Defendant appealed in error to this Court and perfected same.

At the trial the defendant stood alone upon the provisions of its policy, and offered no proof. The policy was filed as Exhibit I to the testimony of the plaintiff, E. L. Wilson. The coverage and limits of liability stated in the policy is as follows:

"Named Insured and P.O. Address

E. L. WILSON AND WIFE, EYE.LYN WILSON

604 Asheville Highway,

Greeneville, Greene, Tennessee

"Policy Term: 3 years, Inception 10-1-61, Expiration

10-1-64.

# # # * #

"Insurance is provided only with respect to those of [433]*433the following coverages which are indicated by a specific limit of liability applicable thereto.

“Sec. I — Coverages Limit of Liability

A — Dwelling $20,000.00

B — Appurtenant Private Structures 2,000.00

C — Unscheduled personal Property 8,000.00

D — Additional Living Expense 4,000.00

“Sec. II

E — Comprehensive Personal Liability

(Bodily Injury and Property Damage) 10,000.00 Each

occurrence

F — Medical Payments 250.00 Each

Person

Gr — Physical Damage to property of others 250.00 Each

# # # # #

“Subject to the following Forms and Endorsements— Insert No. and Edition Date: MIC-2 12/59: HO-147: HO-50 4/61:

(9/59)

“The described dwelling of Frame construction is occupied by not more than two families and not more than two roomers or boarders per family.

“COVERAGE C — UNSCHEDULED PERSONAL PROPERTY.

“On premises: This policy covers unscheduled personal property usual or incidental to the occupancy of the premises as a dwelling, owned, worn or used by an Insured, while on the premises, or at the option of the Named Insured, owned by others while on the portion of the premises occupied exclusively by the Insured.

“2 — Away from premises: This policy also covers un[434]*434scheduled personal property as described and limited, while elsewhere than on the premises, anywhere in the world, owned, worn or used by an Insured, or at the option of the Named Insured, owned by a guest while in a temporary residence of, and occupied by an Insured or owned by a residence employee while actually engaged in the service of an Insured and while such property is in the physical custody of such' residence employee or in a residence temporarily occupied by an Insured. Property pertaining to a business is not covered.

“The limit of this company’s liability for such property while away from premises shall be an additional amount of insurance equal to 10% of the amount specified for Coverage C, but in no event less than $1,000.”

“In the policy the First Mortgagee: Home Federal Savings & Loan Association of Johnson City & G-reene-ville, Tenn.”

The declaration alleges that the liability occurred by the destruction of property described in “Coverage ‘C’ ” unscheduled personal property $8,000. The premium for three years on this whole policy is shown to be $231.00, and which is payable annually in the amounts of $77.00, “Payable At Inception $77.00; At each subsequent anniversary $77.00.”

The pleas of the defendant are in substance and in fact at some points, as follows:

I — That it denies any contract with plaintiffs to insure property at the location where it was burned.
II — That it is indebted to the plaintiffs as alleged in the declaration.

And then the crux of the defense is in its plea III:

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Shelby Mutual Insurance Company v. Wilson
383 S.W.2d 791 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1964)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
383 S.W.2d 791, 53 Tenn. App. 428, 1964 Tenn. App. LEXIS 111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shelby-mutual-insurance-company-v-wilson-tennctapp-1964.