Standard Accident Ins. v. Goldberg

120 Okla. 108
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 9, 1926
DocketNo. 17033
StatusPublished

This text of 120 Okla. 108 (Standard Accident Ins. v. Goldberg) 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
Standard Accident Ins. v. Goldberg, 120 Okla. 108 (Okla. 1926).

Opinion

Opinion by

STEPHENSON, C.

Harry Goldberg was engaged in the jewelry business and in making personal loans on pledges of personal property as security therefor, in the city of Tulsa. The assured conducted the business of the two enterprises in the same building. Abend & Blazer took the application of Harry Goldberg for the robbery and theft insurance policy sued on in this action. The agents did not write this class of insurance, and turned the application over to Brink & Cramer, who were agents for the Standard Accident Insurance Company of Detroit, Mich. The insurance company caused its policy for robbery and theft insurance to be executed and delivered to Harry Goldberg. The policy named Harry Goldberg as assured. Item No. 8 of the policy reads in the following language:

“The property insured under indemnity paragraph No. 2 is jewelry store.”

Item No. 9 reads in the following language:

“Insured’s business is jewelry store.

Paragraph B describes the property insured and reads in the following language:

“The company shall not be liable for loss: (1) Unless the robbery is established by reasonable evidence; (2) of any property unless it belongs to the assured, or is held by him in trust, or as collateral for indebtedness to the assured, or is held by the assured in such capacity as wcu'd render him legally liable to the owner thereof for such loss of the property as is covered hereby, * * *”

On the morning of December 26th, at about 8:30 o’clock, bandits entered the store building after it had been opened for business, and by use of firearms compelled the employees of the assured to deliver to them jewelry and valuables in the custody of the assured, to the value of about $10,000.

The assured commenced his action against the Standard Accident Insurance Company co its policy for the full amount of the insurance against robbery, in the sum of $5,-000. The jewelry and valuables procured by the robbers were property pledged to Harry Goldberg, and then held by him as collateral security for personal loans made to the owners of the pledged property. The petition charged that the policy covered property pledged with the plaintiff as collateral security for loans made to the .owners of the property. The defendant answered that the policy covered only jewelry and valuables owned by the assured, and held by bim for sale to the public in the conduct and operation of his jewel.'y store. It is the contention of the insurer that the making of personal loans, and taking personal property as collateral- security, is not a class of business involved in the vending of jewelry through the operation and conduct of a jewelry store. The assured admits the proposition that the making of personal loans- and receiving of personal property as pledges is not involved in the usual conduct of a jewelry store, but urges that it was the intention of the assured and of the agents, [109]*109Abend & Blazer, to cover both tbe jewelry business and loan business by tbe terms of tbe policy. Tbe assured points to that part of paragraph “B,” as quoted above., as evidence of tbe intention of both parties to cover tbe property offered for sale through tbe jewelry store, and that held as collateral security for loans to tbe owners of tbe property. It is said by tbe assured that tbe construction contended for by tbe defendant would render tbe phrase “or as collateral for indebtedness to tbe assured” meaningless, and of no force in tbe contract, if tbe view of tbe insurer is taken, to tbe effect that the policy phly .covered property owned by tbe assured for vending to tbe public through tbe jewelry store.

The trial of tbe cause resulted in the court instructing the jury that the lost property came within the terms ’of the policy, and sent the question of value to them. Tbe jury returned its verdict for tbe plaintiff for tbe full amount sued for. Tbe defendant has perfected its appeal, and among tbe several propositions assigned as error for reversal is, tbe contention that tbe policy did not cover tbe personal property pledged with tbe assured, and which was lost on account of tbe robbery.

An insurance policy should be interpreted by tbe rules which are applicable to other written contracts to ascertain tbe meaning and intentions of the parties as expressed by tbe written contract. Fidelity & Casualty Co. v. Curtis Brown Co., 105 Okla. 136, 232 Pac. 99.

If a contract be ambiguous in its terms, tbe eoui;t should examine tbe entire contract for the purpose of declaring tbe meaning and intentions of tbe parties as expressed by tbe entire contract. If tbe court is unable to determine tbe meaning of tbe contract from its terms, by reference to the entire contract, it should then bear testimony of w'tnesfees to determine the meaning and intention of the parties as expressed by tbe contract. If there be dispute between the parties on any material issues, of fact involved in the hearing, to determine the meaning and intention the parties sought to express by the written agreement, tbe question then becomes one of fact for submission to the jury under proper instructions of the court. Kansas City Southern Ry. Co. v. Whitaker et al., No. 15442, 115 Okla. 212. 242 Pac. 220; Brooks et al. v. J. R. Watkins Medical Co., 81 Okla. 82, 196 Pac. 956.

Section 6728, C. O. S. 1921, reads in tbe following language:

“Solicitors Agents of Company: Any person who shall solicit and procure an application for insurance shall in all matters relating to such application for insurance and tbe policy issued in consequence thereof, be regarded as tbe agent of tbe company issuing the policy, and not tbe agent of the insured, and all provisions in the application and policy to the contrary are void and of no effect whatever.”

The effect of tbe section was to make Abend & Blazer the agents of tbe plaintiff in error in procuring tbe application for tbe policy, as tbe plaintiff in error accepted tbe application through Brink & Cramer, its representatives, and caused tbe policy to be issued on the application. Blazer testified in tbe trial of tbe cause that Harry Goldberg desired tbe policy to be written on tbe jewelry and merchandise sold through the jewelry store, and also on the property received by Goldberg as pledges to secure loans to the owners. Blazer testified that he described tbe property to be covered by tbe policy as “jewelry and loan business.” The application upon whic*> the policy was written was not introduced in evidence in the trial of tbe cause.

Rules of construction require us to look to all parts of the contract to determine the meaning and intention of tbe parties as expressed by the writing. We shall ássumé that all terms and provisions embodied in the written agreement were intended to be given effect by the parties, and that all terms used in the contract were employed for tbe purpose of expressing tbe meaning and intention of tbe parties. ’

The term “jewelry store,” as used in tbe policy sued on in this action, performs a two-told purposes — that of describing tbe property covered by tbe policy, and also establishing its location. Except for tbe language of paragraph “B,” we would understand tbe phrase to mean, that the plaintiff was insured against loss of jewelry owned by him tor tbe purpose of vending to tbe public through tbe jewelry business, if the property was located in the store building at the time of its loss.

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Bluebook (online)
120 Okla. 108, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/standard-accident-ins-v-goldberg-okla-1926.