W. A. Lang, Inc. v. Dobner

189 Minn. 566
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedOctober 13, 1933
DocketNo. 29,515
StatusPublished

This text of 189 Minn. 566 (W. A. Lang, Inc. v. Dobner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
W. A. Lang, Inc. v. Dobner, 189 Minn. 566 (Mich. 1933).

Opinion

HOLT, Justice.

The appellant, Dobner, is receiver of the St. Paul Home Company, a corporation, in court in process of dissolution. In that proceeding the respondent, W. A. Lang, Incorporated, petitioned for certain relief. It was granted, and the receiver appeals from the order, challenging the findings of fact upon which the order is made.

Respondent, through duly licensed agents, is and for many years has been in the business of writing various forms of insurance as agent for a number of insurance companies. In that business it employed Francis J. Rosenthal as soliciting agent to obtain applications for insurance. Mr. Rosenthal, to facilitate his business, caused the St. Paul Home Company to be incorporated, he being the owner of 248 shares of its total issue of 250 shares of stock. He kept the accounts relating to his insurance business in the books of the St. Paul Home Company, deposited the premiums collected in the bank in its name, and remitted to respondent by checks of the company drawn on its said account. Rosenthal died in August, 1932. His special administrators petitioned for the dissolution of the St. Paul Home Company, and appellant was duly appointed receiver and is so acting. In the dissolution proceeding respondent, W. A. Lang, Incorporated, petitioned the court for the possession of the unpaid premium accounts for policies issued by the agency, on the ground that such accounts were its property and held by Rosenthal as its agent. The court made findings and upon such findings ordered the receiver to turn over to respondent the said uncollected accounts amounting to $3,341.69.

If the evidence supports the findings of fact the order is correct. Six of the eight findings are attacked as not supported by the evidence. The controlling parts of those findings may be thus stated: [568]*568That respondent, through its licensed employes, executed, on behalf of its own principals, policies covering risks obtained by Rosenthal for various insureds named in the policies; that it was the duty of Rosenthal to collect the premiums due on such policies and remit the same, less his commission, to respondent; that by reason of the premises Rosenthal was the special agent and fiduciary of respondent, and the premiums on said policies were in fact due to respondent subject to Rosenthal’s commission; that between May 1, 1932, and the last of August, 1932, respondent issued through its licensed agents, upon applications procured by Rosenthal, policies of insurance for various persons, the premiums of which, after crediting Rosenthal’s commissions, aggregated $3,311.69, which policies were delivered to the insureds and covered sundry risks; that respondent has accounted to the various insurance companies issuing the policies for the full premiums, and has not received from Rosenthal any of the premiums due from the insureds thereon, and such premiums have not been paid by the insureds to anyone; that respondent kept an account in the name of Rosenthal of the policies issued at his request and of the premiums due thereon; but said account was kept as a matter of convenience, as a memorandum account, and that fact, together with the other evidence, fails to establish that the relation of debtor and creditor rather than the relation of agent and- principal existed between Rosenthal and respondent, so that the latter was not precluded from collecting directly from the policyholders if it so elected. The court also found that the St. Paul Home Company was at no time the agent of respondent; and that until the status of these outstanding accounts is determined respondent is without adequate remedy to protect itself on the premiums or to realize on the unearned portion of the premiums that remain unpaid either by collection or by cancelation of the policies. The last finding was in substance that said premium accounts are not the property of the St. Paul Home Company, or the receiver, nor are the amo unte thereby shown as due and owing from the policyholders for premiums in fact due and owing to said St. Paul Home Company, or to the receiver thereof; but said accounts are [569]*569properly the property of respondent, and the amounts shown due thereby from premiums from policyholders and remaining unpaid are in fact due respondent subject only to such commissions thereon as have been earned by Rosenthal as respondent’s soliciting agent.

Of the accounts involved, some came into existence after Rosenthal’s death, but there was an understanding between respondent and appellant that the insurance business might go on as if Rosenthal were living and conducting it in the manner he had been doing. So we need not consider the legal effect of Rosenthal’s death upon the questions presented by the appeal.

It is perfectly plain that if the findings we have summarized are supported by the evidence no other order could be made than the one made. Appellant’s position is, in short, that the relation between Rosenthal and respondent, in so far as concerns the accounts now involved, is that of debtor and creditor, and that it is impossible to draw from the evidence any other conclusion. Of course, if in truth and in fact Rosenthal became a debtor to respondent the time an insurance policy procured by the latter was sent to Rosenthal for delivery to the insured, appellant is right. We do not think this is the true situation disclosed by the record. There can be no doubt that Rosenthal was, during all the time in question, the soliciting agent of respondent, the agent of the insurers. As such agent, Rosenthal was charged with the duty of collecting the premiums upon the policies issued upon the applications procured by him and of remitting the same, less his commission, to respondent. Respondent was obligated to account to the insurers for the premiums on the policies issued. The respondent has so accounted for those here involved. So, when Rosenthal delivered the policies mentioned to the insured, he did so as the agent of respondent charged with the duty of collecting and remitting the premiums to respondent. The policies were not sold to Rosenthal and credit extended to him for the premiums. We do not think this agency relation which obtained when the applications for insurance were obtained changed as long as any duty of the agent remained unperformed. The duty to collect and remit the premiums was his. [570]*570He lias not done so in respect to the premiums in question. No part of the premiums was his except the commission. If a premium was not his property, the account or claim therefor against the policyholder, the insured, was not his. It belonged to the insurer, but became the property of respondent when it accounted to the insurer therefor. The same would have been the case if Rosenthal had remitted or accounted for the premiums. The account against the insured would then be his property, and he could give it to the St. Paul Home Company or dispose of it as he pleased.

Is there anything in the evidence that changed the relation of Rosenthal as an agent of respondent to that of its debtor? Such change could not take place unless with the consent of respondent, the agent’s principal. The fact that, under the agency contract, the principal may hold the agent personally liable for the violation of his duties as agent does not change the latter’s status as to property of the principal of which the agent was in possession.

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Bluebook (online)
189 Minn. 566, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/w-a-lang-inc-v-dobner-minn-1933.