St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Otwell

1934 OK 480, 36 P.2d 52, 169 Okla. 317, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 343
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 25, 1934
Docket22326
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1934 OK 480 (St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Otwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Otwell, 1934 OK 480, 36 P.2d 52, 169 Okla. 317, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 343 (Okla. 1934).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The parties will bo referred to as they appeared in the lower court, plaintiff in error as defendant, and defendant in error as plaintiff. On the 22nd day of May, 1929, the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company issued it policy of insurance covering 325 acres of wheat, the property of J. M. Otwell, to the extent of $10 per acre, against loss on account of hail. The property insured was in four fields; 45 acres in section 23, and 100 acres in section 22. 80 acres in section 34, and 100 acres in section 35, all in township 2 north, range 17 west, in Kiowa county, Okla. The plaintiff paid the premium of $325, and claims that on or about the 2nd day of July, 1929, he suffered a loss on account of hail, and thereafter brought suit. In his petition he claims he sustained damages as follows: That 10 acres in section 23 were totally destroyed, to his damage of $100; that 100 acres in section 22 were totally destroyed, to his damage of $1,000; that 80 acres in section 34 wore damaged to the extent of 60 per cent, to his loss of $480; that 65 acres in section 35 were totally destroyed, to his damage of $650, and 35 acres in section 35 were damaged 75 per cent., to his damage of $262.50, and that the total damages as sustained was $2,492.50. He claims that within 48 hours thereafter he gave written notice of the statement of his loss to the defendant company. In response to such notice, the defendant sent an adjuster to examine the loss, but refused to examine the loss except upon the execution of a nonwaiver agreement, which was accordingly executed by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff claims that in response to a letter from him within 60 days of the loss, the defendant wrote him a letter stating that the adjuster had found no loss within the terms of the policy, and that they were going to stand by his report and refuse to make any settlement with the plaintiff. The suit was tried to a jury, and the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $1,500.

A motion for new trial was duly filed by the defendant and overruled. Judgment was rendered on the verdict, and the defendant has perfected his appeal, and the cause is now here for review.

1. The plaintiff in error, defendant below, sets forth 11 assignments of error. The plaintiff in error, however, in its brief, urges but two of these assignments, assignments Vos. 4 and 9, and under the rule as laid clown in Morton v. Thomason et al., 146 Okla. 255, 293 P. 1005, the court will treat the other assignments of error as waived, which rule is as follows:

“It is well settled practice of this court that though a question be raised in the motion for a new trial and also by assignment of error on appeal, yet if it is not presented in the brief, argument made thereon, and authorities cited, this court will hold the question as waived.”

2. We will therefore take up the assignments of error that counsel presents in its brief. The first proposition presented is under assignment of error No. 9, which was:

“That the court erred in giving to the jury instruction No. 7, to which action the defendant duly excepted and the exception was allowed.”

Counsel for plaintiff in error argues this assignment under the following proposition:

“1. The court erroneously instructed the jury in instruction No. 7 that the measure of plaintiff’s recovery was the entire amount necessary to compensate him for damages sustained to his crop, while the policy expressly provides that the amount payable should be in such proportion to $10 per acre as the damaged portion of the crop bears to the sound condition of the crop.”

The policy introduced in evidence at the trial contains the following provision:

“In event of the total destruction by hail only the crops hereby described, or any part thereof, the amount payable hereunder as to each acre where this policy covers shall be the amount per acre named herein, and in event of partial destruction by hail only of the crops, or any part thereof, described in this policy, the amount payable per acre under this policy shall be in such proportion to the amount per acre specified herein as the damaged portion of said crops bears to the sound condition of the particular crop or crops so damaged.’’

*319 The instruction complained of is as follows:

“You are instructed that in case you find for the plaintiff under the evidence and these instructions, you will return a verdict for the plaintiff for such sum as you find from the evidence will compensate him for the damage sustained to the crop of wheat covered by the policy in question herein, not to exceed the sum of .$2,942.50.”

The plaintiff in error contends that this is reversible error. Counsel cites no authorities. but argues that the provision in the policy shows upon its face that the instruction is erroneous and that the cause should be reversed, for the reason that the jury were not given the proper instruction as to the measure of damages to be awarded the plaintiff, if any had been sustained.

In viewing this situation, it is necessary to take into consideration the allegations of the petition of the plaintiff, the proof offered, and the meaning of this provision of the policy. Under the averments of plaintiff’s petition, it is alleged that 10 acres of wheat in section '23 were totally destroyed, for which he claims $100 damages, or $10 per acre; that 100 acres in section 22 were totally destroyed, for which he claims damages at $10 per acre, or $1,-000: that 65 acres in section 35 were totally destroyed, for which he claims damages at $10 per acre, or $650. The plaintiff substantiates these allegations by his proof, and, if this is true, and if this proof is correct, he has sustained damages at a total loss of $1,750. Under the averments of his petition, he claims a 75 per cent, loss in section 34 to 80 acres, for which he claims $480, and a 75 per cent, loss on 35 acres in section 35. for which he claims $262.50, and his proof establishes this percentage of loss. If the jury is satisfied with his proof, it then becomes necessary to determine the meaning of the provision in the policy.

It will be observed that the provision in the policy takes care of two contingencies : First, for a total loss: and second, for a partial loss. The part which provides for total loss is as follows:

“In event of the total destruction by hail only, the crops hereby described, or any part thereof, the amount payable hereunder as to each acre where this policy covers shall be the amount per acre named herein.” etc.

Thus, under this provision, it occurs to us that there can be no argument. If the crop, or any portion thereof, is totally destroyed, the amount payable is the limit set forth in the policy; and in this ease, that would be $10 per acre. Of course, there is a reason for this provision. If the crop is totally destroyed, there would be no way of telling what the yield would be, and it would have to be covered by the full extent of the liability under the policy.

The latter portion of the provision covers partial loss, and reads as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
1934 OK 480, 36 P.2d 52, 169 Okla. 317, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 343, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-paul-fire-marine-insurance-co-v-otwell-okla-1934.