Stone v. Salvage & Bridges Agency, Inc.

565 N.E.2d 318, 206 Ill. App. 3d 615, 152 Ill. Dec. 76, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1988
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 31, 1990
DocketNo. 5—88—0663
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 565 N.E.2d 318 (Stone v. Salvage & Bridges Agency, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stone v. Salvage & Bridges Agency, Inc., 565 N.E.2d 318, 206 Ill. App. 3d 615, 152 Ill. Dec. 76, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1988 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE CHAPMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff Gordon R. Stone filed a complaint against defendant Salvage & Bridges Agency, Inc. (Salvage & Bridges), alleging negligence and breach of contract for failure to properly insure certain art objects. Defendant filed a third-party complaint against the W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc., which in turn filed a fourth-party complaint against the Lionel Sage Co., Ltd., and Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London, England (Lloyds). The third- and fourth-party complaints were subsequently dismissed and are not involved in this appeal. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant Salvage & Bridges on the basis of collateral estoppel and this court’s decision in Stone v. Those Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London, Subscribing to Cover Note No. SL 10001 (1980), 81 Ill. App. 3d 333, 401 N.E.2d 622 (Stone v. Lloyds). Because this case involves the doctrine of collateral estoppel, it is necessary to relate the facts underlying the disposition in Stone v. Lloyds.

In 1975 the plaintiff purchased 14 Oriental art objects from Charles Bueche for $19,800. Bueche provided plaintiff with an appraisal of the items in which he stated their value to be $275,800. Thereafter, plaintiff contacted Stephen Smith of Salvage & Bridges for the purpose of insuring the art objects for their appraised value. Plaintiff provided Smith with the appraisal by Bueche. After Smith was unsuccessful in obtaining coverage from two companies which Salvage & Bridges represented, he contacted Jack Miller at the W.A. Schickedanz Agency, a specialty broker, to aid in insuring the items. Miller contacted Lloyds which sent an application form which included the following question (No. 19):

“Is there any other material fact, within your knowledge, regarding the proposal of insurance, which should be submitted to the Insurers for consideration?”

Smith read the question to the plaintiff and he responded “no.” Plaintiff never advised Smith that he had purchased, the art objects for $19,800, nor that the man who had appraised the items was the same man who had sold them to plaintiff. Smith, however, never asked plaintiff for this information, nor did he attempt to explain what type of information was requested by question 19.

On August 8, 1975, Lloyds issued a cover note of insurance on the art objects in the amount of the appraisal, $275,800. In March of 1976 all the items, except a boxwood screen, were taken from plaintiffs apartment in a burglary. Plaintiff notified Lloyds of the loss, but it declined payment after it discovered the discrepancy between plaintiff’s cost of the items and the appraised value and that the seller of the items had also furnished the appraisal. Plaintiff filed suit on the policy seeking to recover $245,800 for the stolen items. Lloyds filed an answer and two affirmative defenses, the first for rescission due to material misrepresentations and the second for reformation of the coverage to reflect the true nature and value of the items.

After trial, the trial court entered judgment for Lloyds on its first affirmative defense, rescinded the cover note, and directed Lloyds to refund the premium paid. The trial court found that the art objects did not remotely approach the value of $275,800 and that statements as to the nature and the value of the items were material. The court also found that if information concerning the transaction between plaintiff and Bueche had been submitted to Lloyds, the coverage would not have been issued, and the failure to reveal such facts prevented Lloyds from properly appraising its risk. Finally, the court found that the plaintiff had not entered into a planned scheme to defraud Lloyds.

The plaintiff appealed the trial court’s judgment, and this court stated that the question presented was whether- the plaintiff’s failure to disclose the wide variation between purchase price and the contemporaneous appraised value and the fact that the seller and the appraiser were the same person constituted a misrepresentation that affected the materiality of the risk and furnished grounds for rescission. (Stone v. Lloyds, 81 Ill. App. 3d at 336, 401 N.E.2d at 624.) This court affirmed the trial court’s judgment rescinding the insurance coverage. Because the findings and rationale of the Stone v. Lloyds court are important to our decision in this case, they are set out below at some length.

“We have concluded that the findings of the trial court are fully supported by the record, and we will not disturb them. Plaintiff’s factual assertions are fraught with incredulity. Only the most naive, or the most blissfully ignorant, could believe that they could purchase genuine objects of art valued at $275,000 from an established art dealer and appraiser for less than one-thirteenth of their value. If plaintiff chooses to believe he was dealing in an arms-length transaction with Bueche and received the bargain as represented to him, he is at liberty to do so. However, he cannot bring such naivete into the marketplace and fix upon others the consequences of his grossly mistaken judgment. This is especially true in policies of insurance which have traditionally called for good faith, openness and candor on the prospective insured’s part. Carroll v. Preferred Risk Insurance Co.
The plaintiff argues, though, that he was under no duty to report to defendant the source and purchase price of the art objects because the defendant did not ask him. This argument is aimed at question 19 of the proposal completed by plaintiff which asked whether there was any other material fact ‘within his knowledge’ regarding the proposal which should be submitted for consideration. Plaintiff had answered by simply stating, ‘no.’
Plaintiff’s duty to disclose the source and price paid for the artifacts and the other particulars attending his purchase pursuant to question 19 arises as a matter of law. Without question this information would be vital to the risk, and if disclosure had been made the cover note would not have- issued. Plaintiff’s silence under the circumstances constitutes a misrepresentation that must be regarded as material. In providing his answer to question 19 the plaintiff was obliged to furnish the defendant the important information he possessed regarding the discrepancy between the price paid and the contemporaneous appraised value, and the fact that the seller also furnished the appraisals.
*** Beyond this, the facts in this case are so egregious that it can be determined as a matter of law that the misrepresentation implicit in plaintiff’s failure to disclose was material to the risk.” (Emphasis added.) Stone v. Lloyds, 81 Ill. App. 3d at 338-39, 401 N.E.2d at 626.

Subsequent to the decision in Stone v. Lloyds, the plaintiff filed a two-count complaint against Salvage & Bridges which is the subject of this appeal. Count I of plaintiff’s complaint alleges breach of contract for failure to obtain insurance. Count II alleges that the defendant, in procuring insurance coverage, negligently:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
565 N.E.2d 318, 206 Ill. App. 3d 615, 152 Ill. Dec. 76, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1988, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stone-v-salvage-bridges-agency-inc-illappct-1990.