State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Lindsey

388 So. 2d 1189, 1980 Miss. LEXIS 2109
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 1, 1980
DocketNo. 52174
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 388 So. 2d 1189 (State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Lindsey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Lindsey, 388 So. 2d 1189, 1980 Miss. LEXIS 2109 (Mich. 1980).

Opinion

BOWLING, Justice, for the Court:

The primary question involved in this appeal is whether there was sufficient evidence presented to the jury for it to find that appellant waived the lapse or the forfeiture of appellees’ automobile insurance policy issued by appellant. The cause is appealed from a jury verdict for appellees on that issue and comes from the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County.

Appellant contends that its request for a peremptory instruction at the conclusion of all the evidence should have been granted. Another primary contention by appellant is that the lower court erroneously admitted highly prejudicial evidence and that such admission constitutes reversible error.

In discussing the first and primary question in the case, as stated above, it is so elemental that citation of authority is not needed that in considering whether the lower court erred in refusing the peremptory instruction for appellant, the lower court and this Court are required to consider all the evidence most favorable to the party against whom the peremptory instruction is being requested, and to allow the trier of facts to resolve every reasonable inference in favor of that party. With this obligation and after a careful study of the record, we first relate the evidence applicable to the first alleged error.

In March, 1976, appellee Leanna Lindsey was under twenty-one years of age and was attending the University of Mississippi School of Nursing at the Medical Center in Jackson. Her home was in Starkville, Mississippi, which also was the home of her mother, appellee Mrs. Mary T. Lindsey. Leanna had a 1970 Volkswagon automobile. She desired insurance on that vehicle and contacted one Glenn Rawson, the local agent in Starkville for appellant, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. All parties were good friends and attended the same church. At Rawson’s suggestion, due to Leanna’s age, the named insured was listed on the policy as “Mrs. Mary T. Lindsey,” Leanna’s mother, although Leanna kept and used the car in Jackson.

In January, 1977, Leanna graduáted from nursing school and had become twenty — one years of age. During that month she purchased a Buick automobile through a financing agreement with a local bank. She immediately contacted appellant’s agent, Rawson, instructing him of the automobile change and further instructing him that the policy should be placed in her name and gave him her Jackson address. The existing policy was changed and the usual six month policy period was added so that the next premium due date was on September 11, 1977. Due to a misunderstanding, the renewal policy still was issued in the name of Mrs. Mary Lindsey, showing the Stark-ville address. The proof is clear that for many years the business procedure of appellant company was for it to issue automobile policies for periods of six months each with a premium due for each period. It is undisputed that sometime prior to September 11, 1977, the premium due notice was mailed from the company’s computer center in Monroe, Louisiana, to the still named insured, Mrs. Mary Lindsey, at the Starkville address. Mrs. Lindsey placed this notice with other mail that had been received di[1191]*1191rected to Leanna. On Leanna’s next visit home, she secured the premium notice and took it back to Jackson with her. At this time she was moving from the school dormitory to an apartment on Ridgewood Road. During the course of the move, the premium notice was misplaced. It was later found and on September 25, 1977, Leanna wrote a check payable to State Farm in the amount of $173.10, the amount requested on the premium notice from the company for the policy bearing the due date as stated above.

Leanna worked at night during the entire period in question and would get home about eight o’clock A.M. each day. On October 5,1977, she received a notice from the Starkville Bank that she should pay the overdue automobile policy premium. On the morning of October 6, 1977, Leanna [after stating that she had not mailed the September 25 check due to inability to secure stamps while working] placed the check in an envelope with the portion of the premium notice stating that it should be returned with the premium payment and deposited it in the apartment mail box. She then went to bed and got up late that afternoon. Afterwards, she and a friend went to a movie and at about 9:30 o’clock that evening, October 6, while driving the Buick car, she was involved in a collision with another vehicle at the intersection of North West and Taylor Streets in Jackson.

Leanna called her mother that night and requested that she contact Agent Rawson. Mrs. Lindsey did this and according to her, Rawson told her that everything was alright and that Leanna had a thirty-day grace period to pay the premium [Rawson later denied this but, as hereinbefore stated, the jury had a right to believe Mrs. Lindsey]. The mother then called Leanna and related to her the conversation with Agent Rawson. Rawson had given instructions to call appellant’s agent Wertz in Jackson. Leanna did so that evening and was informed that she should contact the company’s claims office in Jackson on the following morning. This was done by Leanna, who told the claims representative about the check being mailed with the required part of the premium notice being included. Leanna was informed by appellant’s claims agent that the computer printout from Monroe showed the policy had lapsed and that they would have to just wait and see what the company would do about the matter. Leanna talked with the claims representative “several times” during the next approximately two weeks, with the claim being held in abeyance pending final action by the company’s underwriting department.

On October 18, 1977, Leanna’s check was deposited in appellant’s premium receipt account. On October 19, it issued a new policy still in the name of Mrs. Mary Lindsey, and “back-dated” it to become effective 12:01 A.M., on October 7, some two and one-half hours after the collision occurred. According to the claims representative and the testimony of a Mr. Carter, a supervisor for the company in the Monroe, Louisiana, office of appellant, the reason for this action was that the envelope containing Leanna’s check and the premium notice showed a “P.M.” postmark rather than an “A.M.” postmark. He stated that had the envelope showed an “A.M.” postmark, the “new” policy would have become effective at 12:01 P.M. on October 6, which was some nine and one-half hours prior to the collision.

In December, 1977, appellees received a check from appellant in the amount of $32.40. The check was dated October 19, 1977, and did not state anywhere thereon any information as to why the check was issued and mailed. No witness for appellant ever explained the check. The reason for its issuance is completely unknown.

As stated at the outset, a study of the authorities on the question before us clearly shows that every case involving whether or not a lapse or forfeiture of an insurance policy is waived stands on a different factual basis and each has to be considered on its individual facts. We are not concerned here with a waiver being made by appellant as a matter of law. We are only concerned with whether or not all the testimony and its reasonable inferences made a question for the jury under the record of this particular case.

[1192]*1192Recapitulating, we note several positive parts of evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
388 So. 2d 1189, 1980 Miss. LEXIS 2109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-v-lindsey-miss-1980.