Union National Bank of Little Rock v. Moriarty

746 S.W.2d 249, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 9122, 1987 WL 3288
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 22, 1987
Docket9588
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 746 S.W.2d 249 (Union National Bank of Little Rock v. Moriarty) 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
Union National Bank of Little Rock v. Moriarty, 746 S.W.2d 249, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 9122, 1987 WL 3288 (Tex. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinions

GRANT, Justice.

Appellants Union National Bank of Little Rock (hereafter referred to as Union Bank) and Aetna Casualty & Surety Company (hereafter referred to as Aetna) appeal from a judgment in which they were held liable for failure to provide Judy Moriarty with appropriate fire insurance coverage on a house located in Bowie County. Cross-appellant Moriarty appeals from the refusal of the trial court to provide attorney’s fees.

Judy Moriarty purchased a house in Tex-arkana, Texas, in 1966 and began making payments under a deed of trust and note. She sold the house to the Bakers in 1980 for $26,500 under a contract of sale1 and moved to Houston. She notified Union Bank, which had begun servicing the loan in 1980, of her new address, but she did not notify Aetna. She also notified Union Bank that she was divorced and had been awarded the house in the divorce proceeding. The house burned July 7, 1983.

Part of the payments made by Moriarty to Union Bank went into an escrow fund, from which the bank paid the insurance agent Dean Barry, who in turn sent the payments to Aetna. Testimony indicates that the insurance policy premiums to cover just the house while being rented would have been less than the premium paid to cover the house and Moriarity’s personal effects while Moriarty was living there.

When the house burned, Aetna denied the claim for benefits because Moriarty (as the insured) was not living in the house at the time of the fire as required for coverage under the insurance policy.

According to the testimony, Moriarty received a copy of the policy each year, but she did not examine it and did not realize that the policy had become invalid by reason of the fact that she no longer resided in the house. There is a presumption in Texas that an insured knows the contents of his or her insurance policy, but this presumption can be overcome by proof that he or she did not know. An insured is allowed to rely on the knowledge and ex-[251]*251pertise of the insurer to provide the correct policy. Colonial Savings Association v. Taylor, 544 S.W.2d 116 (Tex.1976).

The jury found that Union Bank was an agent for Aetna in accordance with the statutory definition provided by TexJns. Code Ann. art. 21.02 (Vernon Supp.1987). The jury further found that Union Bank was negligent in failing to advise Aetna of Moriarty’s change of residence so that the appropriate insurance policy could be issued, and that this negligence was a proximate cause of Moriarity’s damages in the amount of $24,000.

Aetna contends on appeal that there was insufficient or no evidence to show that Union Bank had a duty to obtain insurance for Moriarty; that there was insufficient evidence or no evidence to show that Union Bank had a duty to inform Aetna of the change of residence; that there was insufficient evidence or no evidence of negligent conduct by Union Bank; that there was no pleading by Moriarty of negligence by Union Bank; that special issue two was Global and assumed controverted facts in issue; that there was insufficient evidence or no evidence to show that Aetna issued any policy or was the insurer or that Union Bank engaged in conduct as an agent of Aetna; that the damage issue was a comment on the evidence and did not properly limit recoveries to the policy limit; and that there was insufficient evidence or no evidence to support the damage finding.

Union Bank contends on appeal that there was no evidence that Union Bank ever secured or renewed the insurance policy in question, that there was no evidence that Union Bank was an agent for Aetna, that there was insufficient evidence or no evidence to show any loss by Moriarty, and that the amount of damages was found by using an incorrect measure.

In reviewing no evidence points, the court considers only the evidence tending to support the finding, viewing it in the light most favorable to the finding, giving effect to all reasonable inferences therefrom, and disregarding all contrary and conflicting evidence. Glover v. Texas General Indemnity Co., 619 S.W.2d 400 (Tex.1981). Insufficient evidence points require that we consider and weigh all the evidence. In re King’s Estate, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660 (1951).

Aetna and Union Bank contend that there was no evidence to support special issue two in which the jury found that Union Bank was negligent in failing to tell Aetna about the residence changes.2 We agree. There is no evidence showing that Union Bank failed to inform Aetna about the changes of address. The mere fact that Aetna did not issue the proper policy is not proof that Union Bank did not notify Aetna of Moriarty’s change of address. This was the only negligence issue submitted to the jury, and the legal insufficiency precludes any recovery by Moriarty against Union Bank. Because of our determination on this issue, we do not address the other points raised on the liability of Union Bank.

We now look at the points of error that are applicable to the issue of Aetna’s liability. The only remaining jury findings against Aetna are special issues four and five. In special issue four, the jury found that Union Bank was an agent for Aetna “in securing and/or renewing the insurance policy” on the house. Special issue five found that the amount of damage that Moriarty suffered as a result of the fire loss was $24,000. Moriarty has contended that Aetna is estopped from using the defense that she was not a resident of the house at the time of the fire, because Aetna had continued to accept premiums for coverage even though its agent, Union Bank, had received notification of her change of residency. If Union Bank is Aetna’s agent, Union Bank’s knowledge will be imputed to Aetna. Republic Bankers Life Insurance Co. v. Coffey, 490 S.W.2d 231 (Tex.Civ. App.-Amarillo 1973, writ refd n.r.e.) [252]*252There were no jury findings pertaining to Moriarty’s notification to Union Bank of her change of address or on the issue of whether the facts of the case constituted estoppel. The evidence is undisputed that Moriarty notified Union Bank of her change of address. On the failure to submit the issue of estoppel, we apply Tex.R. Civ.P. 279. This rule provides that when a ground of recovery consists of more than one issue, if one or more of the issues necessary to sustain the ground of recovery are submitted to the jury and one or more such issues are omitted, and there is evidence to support a finding thereon, such omitted issues shall be deemed as found by the court in such a manner as to support the judgment. We find that there is sufficient evidence to support the finding of estoppel in this case.

Estoppel3 may operate to avoid a forfeiture of an insurance policy, but estop-pel cannot be used to change, rewrite and enlarge the risks covered by a policy. Texas Farmers Insurance Co. v. McGuire, 31 Tex.Sup.Ct.J. 23, 744 S.W.2d 601 (1987). This distinction is sometimes difficult to apply. In the McGuire case, the policyholder claimed benefits for injuries sustained while operating a vehicle owned by his employer.

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Union National Bank of Little Rock v. Moriarty
746 S.W.2d 249 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
746 S.W.2d 249, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 9122, 1987 WL 3288, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/union-national-bank-of-little-rock-v-moriarty-texapp-1987.