Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Equipment Rental Co.

345 S.W.2d 831, 1961 Tex. App. LEXIS 2256
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 13, 1961
Docket13691
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 345 S.W.2d 831 (Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Equipment Rental Co.) 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
Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Equipment Rental Co., 345 S.W.2d 831, 1961 Tex. App. LEXIS 2256 (Tex. Ct. App. 1961).

Opinion

COLEMAN, Justice.

Plaintiff, Equipment Rental Company, brought suit against defendant, The Travelers Indemnity Company, for the loss it had sustained by reason of damage to a ■crane, contending that defendant was liable by reason of a contract of insurance. Trial was to a jury, but the case was withdrawn from the jury by the court and judgment rendered for plaintiff.

Defendant appeals on three Points of error, the first of which reads: “The trial court erred in overruling Travelers’ motion for instructed verdict because Equipment Rental Company never was legally obligated to pay damages to the Lummus Company.”

Plaintiff contracted with the Lummus Company to furnish certain heavy equipment for use on a job Lummus was performing for Petroleum Chemicals, Inc. The contract provided that:

“At all times during the performance of this contract the Sub-contractor shall maintain the following insurance in companies and on terms and conditions satisfactory to The Lummus Company and the Customer.
“(d) Property Damage Legal Liability Insurance with a limit of $500,000 for any one accident with respect to the operations Sub-contractor performs away from and/or at the jobsite. This insurance is to cover the property of the public including the property of The Lummus Company and the Customer.”

Plaintiff appointed Comiskey Insurance Agency Agent of Record to handle all insurance matters pertaining to its business and notified defendant of this action. Plaintiff instructed Comiskey to procure a policy of insurance covering all of the requirements of the contract and furnished him a copy of the contract. In addition to the “Insurance Requirements” the contract contained this provision:

Indemnity:
“The Sub-contractor shall hold The Lummus Company and the Customer harmless for loss or damage from any causes whatsoever to property owned by or in the care, custody or control of the Sub-contractor, its agents, servants and employees.”

The portions of the contract dealing with indemnity and insurance requirements were furnished defendant, who prepared a con *833 tract of insurance and delivered copies of it to Lummus and plaintiff.

Endorsement 3985D, Coverage Z, to the policy, provided:

“Coverage Z — Contractual Property Damage Liability
“To pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured, by reason of the liability assumed by him under any written contract designated in the schedule below, shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of injury to or destruction of property, including the loss of use thereof, caused by accident.”

However, Coverage Z was limited by the provision of Exclusion (h), reading:

“This endorsement does not apply:
“(h) under Coverage Z, to injury to or destruction of (1) property owned or occupied by or rented to the insured, or (2) except with respect to liability under sidetrack agreements covered by this endorsement, property used by or in the care, custody or control of the insured or property as to which the insured for any purpose is exercising physical control.”

Under the heading “Designation of Contracts” in this endorsement appear the words:

Advance
Premium Bases Rates Premiums
(a) number Insured “As Per End. 3985C'
(b) Cost (a) Per contract Agreement With The Lummus
Company, Dated 10-16-57 Rated (b) Per $100 of Cost
As: Cov. Y Cov. Z
Construction Agreements— Cov. Y CovTz '
Indemnification Of
Contractors (Not Railroads)
Excluding Maritime Min.
Operations 0557 (B) if any .0333 17.50”

Endorsement 3985C bears the caption, “Designation of Contracts” “Insured Under Contractual Liability Coverage 3985B,” and reads, in part,

“Agreement With The Lummus Company Reading:
“The Sub-Contractor Shall Hold The Lummus Company And The Customer Harmless For Loss Or Damage From Any Causes Whatsoever To Property Owned By Or In The Care, Custody Or Control Of The Sub-Contractor, Its Agents, Servants And Employees.”

This contract of insurance was accepted by the Lummus Company and the equipment, was furnished to it by plaintiff. During the course of the work the Lummus Company ordered a certain crane from plaintiff, which it did not have available. On or about December 31, 1957, Equipment Rental Company delivered to the job site at Maplewood, Louisiana, a No. 44, Lima crane, which plaintiff had rented from the Lee Corporation. The crane was damaged in an accident. At the time of the accident employees of the Lummus Company were directing and exercising complete control over the crane and the crane was in the care, custody, and control of the employees of the Lummus Company, and was not in the care, custody, and control of Equipment Rental Company. The sole proximate cause of the accident was the negligence of the employees of the Lummus Company.

Plaintiff removed the damaged crane from the job site, transported it to its yard in Houston, where it was repaired and *834 finally returned to the Lee Corporation. By its agreement with the Lee Corporation plaintiff was required to return the crane in as good condition as received and to pay rental until the crane was returned. Plaintiff billed Lummus Company for the cost of repairs and rental until repaired. Lummus refused to pay the bill. The defendant insurance company denied liability on the sole and only ground that the insurance policy provided no coverage for the loss.

The burden rests on plaintiff to show that his cause of action is founded upon a loss which falls within the coverage of the policy and which is not within the exclusion to the insured risks. Maryland Casualty Co. v. Hopper, Tex.Civ.App., 237 S.W.2d 411; American Casualty & Life Co. v. Butler, Tex.Civ.App., 215 S.W.2d 392, ref., n. r. e.

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Bluebook (online)
345 S.W.2d 831, 1961 Tex. App. LEXIS 2256, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/travelers-indemnity-co-v-equipment-rental-co-texapp-1961.