Ætna Accident & Liability Co. v. White

177 S.W. 162, 1915 Tex. App. LEXIS 643
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 8, 1915
DocketNo. 7232. [fn†]
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 177 S.W. 162 (Ætna Accident & Liability Co. v. White) 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
Ætna Accident & Liability Co. v. White, 177 S.W. 162, 1915 Tex. App. LEXIS 643 (Tex. Ct. App. 1915).

Opinion

RASBURY, J.

Appellees sued appellant upon a policy of insurance indemnifying them against loss by burglary, alleging that by the terms of the policy appellant agreed to indemnify appellees, who were engaged in the banking business at Wilmer, Tex., against all direct loss by burglary of money, bullion, bank notes, etc., not in excess of $5,000, if feloniously abstracted from appellees’ safe. It was further alleged that a loss did occur by burglary, and that appellees had complied with all the provisions of the policy, but that appellant refused to pay the loss. Judgment was sought for the amount of the loss, approximating $3,300, together with 12 per cent, on the amount of the loss as damages, and together with $500 attorney’s fees; the right to recover the last two items being based upon the provisions of article 4746, R. S. 1911.

Appellant admitted the issuance of the policy of insurance, denied any knowledge of a character sufficient upon which to base any belief concerning the burglary and consequent loss and damage, but specifically charged as defensive matter that appellees had breached certain warranties in the policy, and made certain false representations concerning the safe kept by appellees in their banking house, which would reduce the amount of appellant’s liability, it being provided by said policy that in case of misstatement in the description of safe, etc., the policy should not be forfeited, but that appellant would in case of loss pay the amount only which the premium actually paid would have purchased at the rate charged by the appellant for the actual hazard. The defenses referred to generally above were pleaded specifically by appellant as follows:

(1) That the plaintiffs warranted that the price paid for safe by present owner was $500, and that the warranty was breached, in that the plaintiffs were not the owners of the safe, and had not paid either $500 or any sum therefor.

(2) That the plaintiffs warranted that “the safe proper is fire and burglar proof”; that “fire and burglar proof,” as so used, was defined in the policy to mean “that class of safe or vault so designated by safe manufacturers to denote construction intended to protect against loss by fire and burglary”; that, in fact, the safe was not of such class, and was known by the plaintiffs not to be so.

(3) That the policy contained a provision authorizing the company to cancel it on five days’ notice on return of unearned premium; that after the policy had been delivered by it to The plaintiffs and accepted by the plaintiffs, to wit, on September 21, 1910, its general agents wrote to the plaintiffs a letter as follows:

“Recently we executed the above policy covering your bank, but the home office has asked us for a little additional description of your safe. Will you please tell us whether the outer door of your safe is reputed of solid steel construction to resist burglary, or if it is simply of iron cases with concrete filling.”

And the plaintiffs replied:

.“Replying to your inquiry of the 21st inst., will state that the outer doors of our bank safe at this place are of solid steel construction four and one-half inches thick.”

That, in fact, the outer doors were iron cases with concrete filling, and that, if the company had known this fact, it would have canceled the policy.

In response to the foregoing pleas appel-lees pleaded certain facts, not necessary to enumerate, but which will be referred to in our discussion of the issues when necessary.

There was trial by jury, to whom the case was submitted on special issues of fact. Upon the findings of the jury judgment was rendered for appellees, the court refusing to allow the damages and attorneys’ fees. Erom the judgment appellant has appealed, and appellees file a cross-assignment challenging the court’s action concerning the damages and attorney’s fees.

The facts necessary to a disposition of the appeal are that appellant did issue to appel-lees, who were bankers in the town of Wilmer, Tex., a policy of insurance by which appellant agreed to indemnify appellees against direct loss by burglary of money, bullion, bank notes, etc., to the extent of $5,000, which might be feloniously abstracted from appellees’ safe and their other office furniture, fixtures, etc. The policy issued to ap-pellees was not based upon a written application made therefor by appellees. One O. R. Rea, of Lancaster, solicited appellees to take the insurance, and after appellees agreed to take the insurance Rea offered the business to the general agency of appellant in Dallas, where it was accepted, and the policy prepared and delivered to Rea, who made all representations of fact upon which the policy was issued, and who in turn delivered it to appellees. The policy was issued August 25, 1910. Thereafter O. H. Verschoyle, appellant’s general agent ^ at Dallas, wrote and forwarded to appellees the following letter:

“Dallas, Texas, September 21, 1910.
“White Banking Company, Wilmer, Texas.
“In re Burglar Policy No. BB340.
“Recently we executed the above policy covering your bank, and the home office has asked us for some little additional description of your safe. Will you please advise us whether the outer door of your safe is reputed of solid steel construction to resist burglars, or is it simply of iron casing with concrete filling. Kindly favor us with an early reply.
“Yours Very truly,
“C. H. Yerschoyle & Co.,
“General Agents.”

*164 To the foregoing the following reply was received:

“Wilmer, Texas, September 22nd, 1910.
“O. H. Versehoyle & Co., Dallas, Texas:
“Replying to your- inquiry of the 21st inst., will state that the outer doors of our bank safe at this place are of solid steel construction, four and one-half inches thick. If we can be of further service to you, kindly command us.
“Yours very truly,
“White & Co.,
“Carl Tygert, Cashier.”

Subsequent to the foregoing appellees did suffer a loss by burglary approximating $3,-300, which appellant refused to pay. In the policy were certain conditions which the parties agreed should be conditions precedent to any recovery by appellees under the policy, among such conditions being the following:

“(b) ‘Eire and burglar proof,’ as used in this policy, shall be deemed to mean that class of safe or vault so designated by safe manufacturers to denote construction intended to protect against loss by fire and burglary.
“(c) In case of misstatement in description of safe, vault, or protective appliances, or failure to maintain watchman service as described in the warranties of this policy, the insurance hereunder shall not be forfeited, but the company shall pay the amount of indemnity which the premium would have purchased at the rate charged by the company for the actual hazard.”

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Bluebook (online)
177 S.W. 162, 1915 Tex. App. LEXIS 643, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tna-accident-liability-co-v-white-texapp-1915.