Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Co. v. Muse

334 S.W.2d 193, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2110
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 17, 1960
DocketNo. 3709
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 334 S.W.2d 193 (Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Co. v. Muse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Co. v. Muse, 334 S.W.2d 193, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2110 (Tex. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

TIREY, Justice.

Plaintiff grounded his cause of action on an insurance policy covering his stored cotton seed against loss caused by windstorm and rain. At the conclusion of the evidence the Court overruled the insurance company’s motion for instructed verdict and submitted the cause to the jury on six issues. They are absent the burden of proof clause substantially as follows: Do you find

“1. That the wind made an opening in the wall or roof of the building in question? A. Yes.

“2. That the cotton seed in question was damaged by rain entering the opening of the building in question ? A. Yes.

“3. That the cotton seed in question was rendered a total loss for planting purposes by reason of the damages thereto? A. Yes.

“4. What do you find, from a preponderance of the evidence, was the reasonable cash market value of the cotton seed in question in Robertson County for planting purposes per ton just prior to the damage, if any you have found? Answer in dollars and cents. A. $80.00.

“5. What do you find, from a preponderance of the evidence, was the reasonable cash market value of the cotton seed in question in Robertson County for planting [194]*194purposes per ton just after the damage, if any you have found? Answer in dollars and cents. A. None.

“6. What do you find was the reasonable cash market value of the cotton seed in question in Robertson County per ton for any other purpose just after the damage, if any you have found ? A. $33.24.”

The Court overruled the insurance company’s motion to disregard the jury’s answers to Issues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and to render judgment in defendant’s favor, notwithstanding the verdict and granted the plaintiff’s motion for judgment and decreed that plaintiff recover from the insurance company the sum of $2,480 with interest thereon from December IS, 1958, until paid at the rate of 6% per annum, and for costs. The insurance company perfected its appeal to this Court.

The judgment is assailed on what the insurance company designates as Eight Points.

Point 5 is substantially that the Court erred in holding that there was evidence to warrant the submission of Special Issue No. 4. No. 6 is that the Court erred in holding that the testimony was sufficient to support the jury’s answer to Special Issue No. 4. We think that Points 5 and 6 must be sustained on the record before us, and that this will require that the cause be reversed and remanded for reasons which we shall hereinafter briefly state. Testimony was tendered to the effect that in the late summer of 1958 during the ginning of appellee’s cotton crop that he caught about thirty-one tons of cotton seed which he stored in a tractor shed on his farm near Hearne, and that he caught these seed for planting purposes. Appel-lee had caught and stored seed in the same manner during the ginning season of 1957, and he used as much of the seed as was necessary for planting his 1958 crop, and that he sold the cotton seed that he did not use for planting. That appears to be the procedure of cotton farmers in this area. Testimony was tendered to the effect that in the absence of a germination test it was impossible to determine whether or not the seed was good planting seed, and that no test was run on the seed in question prior to the time appellee claimed it was damaged by rain. As we understand the record there is no primary evidence to the effect that the seed was valuable for planting seed prior to the time it was damaged by the rain. The insurance company seasonably filed its objection to Issue 4, and this objection pointed out to the Court that ‘’'there is no evidence and the evidence is insufficient to justify the submission of such issue, in that there is no evidence to the reasonable cash market value of said cotton seed ‘just prior to the damage’ and for the further reason that the value of said cotton seed for planting purposes is wholly immaterial and submits an improper measure of damages, in that said cotton seed was insured as cotton seed and not as planting seed, and if Plaintiff were entitled to an issue on damages it would be to the value of the cotton seed, regardless of the use to which it was to be put, ‘just prior to the damage.’ ” The insurance company further objected to Special Issue No. 4, because it was too general, and did not limit the jury to any particular place or locality and permits them to take into consideration the market value of the cotton seed at Waco, Texas, or any other place in the State of Texas. We think these objections should have been sustained, and that the Court should have corrected his Charge accordingly.

It was stipulated that the insurance policy in suit was in full force and effect and appellant’s counsel in his oral argument before the Court stated that it had never denied liability on the policy, and that it felt that the insured had sustained a loss, but that he was of the view that appellee was claiming a loss far in excess of what he was entitled to. Because of the -statements made by appellee’s counsel, and because we think that the case must be reversed and remanded, we have decided not [195]*195to make further comment upon the testimony tendered.

Plaintiff went to trial on his original petition and his first supplemental petition. He alleged substantially that on the 25th day of September, 1958 he was the owner of approximately thirty-one tons of cotton seed of good germinating quality, and that he had the same stored in a metal shed with metal roof and that defendant executed its certain insurance policy insuring the cotton seed in such barn at the price of $80 per ton, and that plaintiff paid the premium thereon and that said policy was in full force and effect at the time he sustained damages to the seed by virtue of a wind and rain storm; that his loss occurred in the latter part of October, at which time the wind blew open the door and blew part of the roof off, and thereafter, the rain came and wet the cotton seed, and that on or about the 5th day of November, 1958, he checked the seed and found them to be turning black, and he decided it was necessary for him to have a test made in order to ascertain the damage to the seed for germinating purposes; that he forthwith caused a sample of the seed to be tested, and that the test showed that the seed were of no value for planting purposes; that he thereafter gave notice to the insurance company’s agent at Hearne who wrote the policy and demanded that such company pay for his loss. In paragraph 7 he specifically alleged that he “had complied with all of the terms and conditions required of him as set out in said policy of insurance * * * and had made both written and oral demand on defendant to pay him for loss sustained under the policy; that defendant had denied liability under said policy of insurance and had refused and still refuses to pay said sum of money as provided in the policy although demanded and requested to do so by plaintiff.” Plaintiff’s original petition was filed on January 25, 1959, and on February 14, 1959, the defendant filed its original answer which consisted of many exceptions and a general denial.

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Related

Texas Farm Bureau Underwriters v. Hasting
449 S.W.2d 283 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1969)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
334 S.W.2d 193, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2110, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-farm-bureau-insurance-co-v-muse-texapp-1960.