Tiarks v. First National Bank of Mobile

182 So. 2d 366, 279 Ala. 100, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 956
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedJanuary 20, 1966
Docket1 Div. 149
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 182 So. 2d 366 (Tiarks v. First National Bank of Mobile) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tiarks v. First National Bank of Mobile, 182 So. 2d 366, 279 Ala. 100, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 956 (Ala. 1966).

Opinion

COLEMAN, Justice.

The xxnderwriters appeal from a judgment for the assured in an action for breach of a contract denominated “Lloyd’s Banks’ and Trust Companies’ Policy.”

By the terms of the contract, the underwriters agree to pay and make good to the assured all losses that assured may, during the specified period, discover that assured has sustained in the manner mentioned in the contract, subject always to the terms, exclusions, conditions and limitations thereof, that is to say:

“2. Premises. By reason of any Px-opexty being lost through theft or larceny (whether common-law or statutory), or through burglary, robbery, hold-up, false pretences, or mysterious unexplainable disappearance, or being damaged, destroyed or misplaced, howsoever or by whomsoever caused, whilst such Property is (or is supposed to be) in or upon any premises wherever situated, except while in the mail or in the custody of a railway express or air express carrier for the purpose of transportation.
“4. Forged Cheques, et al. By reason of (a) the forgery or alteration of, *103 on or in any cheques, drafts, acceptances, withdrawal orders or receipts for the withdrawal of funds or Property, certificates of deposit, letters of credit, warrants, money orders or orders upon public treasuries; or (b) the forged signature, endorsement or alteration on or in any written instructions or advices addressed to the Assured by customers or banking institutions; or (c) the payment by the Assured of forged or altered promissory notes or of promissory notes bearing forged endorsements. It is agreed that an endorsement upon a cheque or draft of a fictitious name or an endorsement upon a cheque or draft, procured in a face to face transaction, of the name of anyone impersonated, shall be deemed to be a forged endorsement, and it is further agreed that signatures mechanically reproduced on any background or with other identifying symbols, including the colour thereof, shall be treated the same as handwritten signatures.
“12. Definition of Property. The term ‘Property’ as used in this Policy shall be deemed to mean Money, Currency, Coin, Bullion, Precious Metals of all kinds and in whatsoever form and articles made thereform, Gems, Precious and Semi-precious Stones, Certificates of Stock, Bonds, Coupons, and all other forms of securities, Bills of Lading, Warehouse Receipts, Cheques, Drafts, Money Orders, Stamps, Insurance Policies, and all other negotiable and non-negotiable instruments or contracts representing money or other property (real or personal) or interests therein, and all other documents, valuables and the like, in which the Assured are interested or the custody of which the Assured have undertaken either gratuitously or otherwise and whether legally liable therefor or not and chattels not hereinbefore enumerated and for which the Assured are legally liable.
“This Policy is'subject to the'following Exclusions, Conditions and Limitations :—
“13. THIS POLICY IS WARRANTED FREE OF ALL CLAIM
“(D) For loss sustained, either directly or indirectly, by means of forgery and for loss resulting from any loan made by or obtained from the Assured, whether procured through trick, artifice, fraud, false pretences or in good faith, except when covered by Insuring Clause No. 1, No. 4, No. S or No. 6 of this Policy.
“(E) For loss sustained, either directly or indirectly, through the forgery or alteration of in or on any bills of lading, warehouse or trust receipts, or bills or receipts serving a similar purpose, except when covered by Insuring Clause No. 1 of this Policy.”

We are not concerned with Clause No. 1, which provides coverage for loss caused by infidelity of employees of assured, nor with Clauses No. S or No. 6 which pertain to bonds and counterfeit currency.

As important in this case, the policy provides that the underwriters will pay for loss sustained by assured:

“2. By reason of any Property being lost through . . . false pretences . . whilst such Property is ... in or upon any premises . . . except while in the mail ...” etc.; and also for loss sustained:
“4. By reason of (a) the forgery . of, on or in any cheques, drafts, acceptances, withdrawal orders or receipts for the withdrawal of funds or Property, certificates of deposit, letters of credit . . . ; or (b) the forged signature . . . on or in any written instructions or advices addressed to the Assured by customers . . .; or (c) the payment by the As *104 sured of forged . . '. promissory notes

|The policy excludes claims:

'"(D) For loss sustained ... by means of forgery and for loss resulting from any loan made by . . the Assured . . . except when covered by Insuring Clause . . . No. 4 . . . of this Policy.
"(E) For loss sustained, either directly or indirectly, through the forgery . . of . any bills of lading, warehouse or trust receipts, or bills or receipts serving'a similar purpose ...”

The facts are agreed upon. There was no jury. While the policy was in effect during the period from November 1, 1957, to February 1, 1958, assured made loans to Douglas H. Pope, doing business as Douglas H. Pope Company, a sole proprietorship. The loans, aggregating $173,-954.12, were evidenced by Pope’s promissory notes which purported to be secured by invoices for sales of flour as is shown by copies of the notes and invoices attached to the complaint as Exhibits B-l through B-37.

Pope was a flour broker in Mobile. He died and at the time of death was indebted to the assured as aforesaid. The assured had made the loans in good faith and in the regular course of business, in reliance upon Pope’s obligations evidenced by his notes and in reliance upon the invoices.

After Pope’s death, assured discovered that' the invoices, purportedly evidencing sales of flour to various customers of Pope and their resulting indebtedness to him, did not in fact represent goods or merchandise sold because no such sales of flour had been made and no such obligations of Pope’s customers to' him existed.

Pope’s estate was insolvent and, after assured’s receipt of a dividend from the insolvent estate, and as a result of there being no such' sales as were represented by the invoices, assured sustained a loss of $151,-275.49.

Assured relies on Insuring Clauses 2 and 4 as the basis of this action and the underwriters rely on exclusion Clauses 13 (D) and 13(E) as the basis of their defense.

There are additional stipulations with respect to coverage which assured could have purchased but did not purchase. We do not think consideration of this matter of additional coverage is necessary.

The court rendered judgment for assured for $191,363.50. Underwriters appeal and assign various rulings of the court as error. We will discuss the assignments that the court erred in rendering judgment for assured.

Count 1 is in code form on an account. It is apparent that no account was proved unless the underwriters are indebted under the policy and the stipulated facts.

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Bluebook (online)
182 So. 2d 366, 279 Ala. 100, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 956, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tiarks-v-first-national-bank-of-mobile-ala-1966.