Velder v. Cornerstone National Insurance Co.

243 S.W.3d 512, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 87, 2008 WL 169360
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 22, 2008
DocketNo. WD 67198
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 243 S.W.3d 512 (Velder v. Cornerstone National Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Velder v. Cornerstone National Insurance Co., 243 S.W.3d 512, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 87, 2008 WL 169360 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

VICTOR C. HOWARD, Chief Judge.

Defendants Caleb Petty and Petty Insurance Agency, Inc. (together, Petty), appeal an adverse judgment in which they were jointly held liable for fraudulent misrepresentation to plaintiff Michael Velder. Petty was also forced to indemnify Cornerstone National Insurance Company (Cornerstone) for its liability for the same fraudulent misrepresentation. Petty, as an insurance agent for Cornerstone, insured several of Velder’s automobiles. Velder purchased a replacement vehicle and notified Petty. Petty told Velder that the new vehicle would be covered; however, Petty failed to notify Cornerstone of the substitution, and Cornerstone denied coverage. On appeal, Petty now claims that the trial court erred in entering both judgments. He argues that the false representation portion of the judgment was erroneous because Velder was actually covered by the insurance policy, and Cornerstone’s judgment was inappropriate because Petty’s wrongdoing did not cause damage to Cornerstone. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Facts and Background

Caleb Petty, owner of Petty Insurance Agency, Inc., operated as an independent insurance agent for Cornerstone, among other insurance providers. Cornerstone is an automobile insurance carrier that markets its insurance products through independent agents. A written contract defined the nature of the relationship between Cornerstone and Petty. The contract required, among other things, that the agent keep and maintain a license and promptly notify Cornerstone of any additional liability incurred by Cornerstone.

Starting in 2001, Petty provided a Cornerstone insurance policy covering four vehicles, which included liability, bodily injury and property damage, and collision coverage to Velder. Pursuant to this policy, collision coverage would extend to replacement vehicles if the insured met certain conditions. At trial, Cornerstone admitted that, generally, when an insured acquires a new vehicle, the insured notifies the agent, who in turn contacts Cornerstone, for the notice under the newly acquired auto clause to come into effect.

In September of 2003, Velder notified Petty that he intended to trade his insured Isuzu Trooper for a 2003 Ford Escort. Before the delivery of the new Ford, Veld-er contacted Petty and informed him that he was purchasing the Escort and would no longer need insurance on the Trooper. Velder called Petty after delivery, which occurred on September 27, 2003, so that he could verify that the new vehicle was insured. Petty informed Velder that the Escort would be insured when he drove it off the lot and would continue to be covered if Velder called back with the Escort’s vehicle identification number and other essential information. Velder provided the information, and Petty again assured Velder that the Escort was fully insured. On October 27, 2003, while driving the Escort, Velder’s daughter was stopped by a police officer, and was ticketed for her inability to produce proof of insurance. Petty again assured Velder that the car was insured and stated that written verification would be forthcoming. Velder soon thereafter received an insurance card with the effective date of October 2, 2003.

On December 31, 2003, the Escort was involved in an accident and was so severely damaged that it was considered a total loss. Cornerstone refused to pay Velder under the policy’s collision coverage, claiming that Velder’s policy did not cover the Escort because Petty did not forward a change order to Cornerstone indicating [516]*516that the Escort would be substituted for the Trooper. While disputed at trial, Petty insisted that he did forward appropriate notice to Cornerstone. Moreover, in violation of section 375.014,2 in July of 2003, Petty’s license to sell insurance expired and was not renewed.

Velder sued both Petty and Cornerstone alleging fraudulent misrepresentation. The jury found the defendants jointly liable for $19,343.00.3 Co-defendant, Cornerstone sought indemnification from Petty on the claim.4 In a cross-claim, Cornerstone claimed that Petty breached the agency agreement because Petty subjected Cornerstone to liability without acquiring Cornerstone’s written consent, failed to maintain an insurance seller’s license, and solicited insurance without a license.5 Each of these actions violated explicit clauses in the contract between Cornerstone and Petty. The cross-claim was court tried. The trial court found Cornerstone had a right to full and complete indemnification on the fraudulent misrepresentation claim.

Petty now appeals, claiming the court erred in failing to direct a verdict for him on the misrepresentation claim and entering judgment for Cornerstone on its indemnification claim. Cornerstone does not appeal.

Standard of Review

Construction of an insurance contract is question of law which we review rife novo. Green v. Federated Mut. Ins. Co., 13 S.W.3d 647, 648 (Mo.App. E.D.1999). “Because the parties generally agree on all relevant facts,6 our analysis is essentially one of interpretation of the insurance contract. The meaning of an insurance contract is a question of law, particularly in reference to the question of coverage. If only a legal issue is at stake, this court reviews the trial court’s judgment de novo.” H.K. Porter Co. v. Transit Cas. Co., 215 S.W.3d 134, 140-41 (Mo.App. W.D.2006) (internal citation omitted).

In the current appeal, we review both Petty’s denied motion for a directed verdict and a court-tried judgment for indemnification. “On appeal of the denial of a motion for a directed verdict, we review evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to jury’s verdict and disregard evidence to the contrary.” Gorman v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 19 S.W.3d 725, 732 (Mo.App. W.D.2000). A “case may not be withdrawn from the jury unless there is no room for reasonable minds to differ[.]” Gregory v. Robinson, 338 S.W.2d 88, 91 (Mo. banc 1960). Furthermore, when reviewing court-tried issues, we apply the standard of Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976). [517]*517“The trial court’s judgment will be affirmed unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, it erroneously declares the law, or it erroneously applies the law.” Crockett v. Polen, 225 S.W.3d 419, 419-20 (Mo. banc 2007).

Fraudulent Misrepresentation

Essentially, Petty’s first point centers on an argument that Velder’s Escort was actually covered by the insurance policy and that as a result there was no misrepresentation to Velder because his statement that the Escort was covered was not false. Velder complained that Petty fraudulently misrepresented a material fact by repeatedly assuring him that the Escort was insured when, in fact, it was not. To state a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation the plaintiff must prove:

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243 S.W.3d 512, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 87, 2008 WL 169360, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/velder-v-cornerstone-national-insurance-co-moctapp-2008.