Westchester Fire Ins. Co. of New York v. Cannon

79 S.W.2d 920
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 7, 1934
DocketNo. 13075
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 79 S.W.2d 920 (Westchester Fire Ins. Co. of New York v. Cannon) 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
Westchester Fire Ins. Co. of New York v. Cannon, 79 S.W.2d 920 (Tex. Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

POWER, Justice.

In 1915, appellee, L. M. Cannon, bought a farm in Jack county. Upon this farm was a four-room house. He insured this house against loss by fire at the time he purchased the farm with the American Equitable Assurance Company in the sum of $800. At the same time he obtained a fire insurance, con'-' tract with the-same company on his household furniture for $800. The contracts were obtained through Walter Isbell, agent of the company at Jacksboro. These policies were renewed from time to time, the last renewal beginning on January 10, 1932. A fire destroyed the house and furniture on November 22, 1932. The American Equitable Assurance Company paid in full the amount of the insurance to appellee. In 1930, appellee built an addition po his house and some time [921]*921after the addition was built purchased additional furniture. After such addition was built and furniture purchased, he obtained through the same agent, Walter Isbell, an additional policy of insurance on the house in the sum of $1,000 and an additional policy of $200 on the furniture. This latter insurance contract was with appellant, Westches-ter Fire Insurance Company of New York. This contract with appellant was renewed at least once; the last renewal was dated to begin on April 15, 1932. At the time of the fire in November, 1932, the policy of the American Equitable Assurance Company was in force by its terms as well as the policy of appellant.

This suit was instituted by appellee, Can:non, against appellant, Westchester Fire Insurance Company of New York, to recover on the $1,200 fire insurance contracts, and at the conclusion of the trial the court instructed the jury to return a verdict for appellee in the sum of $1,000, appellee having in open court waived his claim to the $200 policy on the furniture, and from that judgment appellant has appealed.

Appellee testified in his own behalf that Walter Isbell was agent for the company and that he relied on Mr. Isbell as such; that he had been dealing with Mr Isbell for a number of years; that he knew nothing about insurance and that he depended upon Mr. Is-bell to keep him insured; that he did not know what company his policies were in; that $4.80 remained unpaid on the premium of the policy in suit at the time of the fire; that most of the time he left his policy in Mr. Isbell’s office for safe-keeping and told Mr. Isbell to notify him when the policy expired; that he permitted Mr. Isbell to select the insurance company and depended upon him to put the insurance in a good company; that after Isbell had placed the insurance he would make arrangements with him about the payment of the premiums; and that when a policy expired he depended on Isbell renewing it and billing him for the premium.

Walter Isbell testified that he formerly represented the Westchester Fire Insurance Company; that he had known L. M. Cannon about fifteen 'years; that at the time Mr. Cannon talked with him with reference to insurance Mr. Cannon did not know the names of any of the fire insurance companies ; that he selected the company in which to place the insurance; that as to the amount of insurance, it would be discussed between assured and Walter Isbell and they would try to arrive at the correct amount; that if it became necessary to transfer the insurance from one company to another, he, Walter Isbell, had charge of this; that the Westchester Fire Insurance Company never authorized him to extend any credit to L. M. Cannon.

In this state of the evidence, had not the questions been objected to and the objections sustained, M. C. Spann, a witness for appellant, would have testified that he was special agent for the Westchester Fire Insurance Company and that he notified Walter Isbell on August 17, 1932, to cancel the West-chester policy of fire insurance, the subject of this suit, and that the witness Walter Isbell agreed to surrender the policy of insurance and accepted from the special agent the unearned premium on the policy. A proper bill of exception was taken to the court’s refusal to permit this evidence, based on the ground that it was not shown ■that appellee, Cannon, knew of this attempted cancellation of the policy, appellant contending that by reason of the facts outlined Isbell became the agent of appellee, Cannon, for the purpose of agreeing to the cancellation of the policy, and therefore the rejected evidence was admissible. The evidence shows that Cannon did not know of the attempted cancellation of the policy until some time after’ the fire.

This court cannot agree, under the facts of this case, 'that Walter Isbell became the agent of appellee, Cannon, for the purposes contended. The facts in the case of Security National Fire Insurance Co. v. Gulf Ins. Co. (Tex. Com. App.) 41 S.W.(2d) 17, 18, seem applicable to this case, and in that case the court used the following language:

“It seems to be established in this state that where the insured has, in terms, authorized another (who is also the agent of a number of insurance companies) to procure and keep up insurance on the insured’s property — the selection of the company or companies being left to the agent’s discretion— the collateral authority to substitute one policy for another, and, in behalf of the insured, to waive notice of or to consent to the cancellation of the policy displaced in effecting such substitution, is implied. Dalton v. Ins. Soc. (Tex. Com. App.) 213 S. W. 230; National Fire Ins. Co. v. Oliver (Tex. Civ. App.) 204 S. W. 367 (writ refused). In such a case, the implied authority of the agent, with regard to can'eellation, has reference to the effectual substitution of one valid policy for another and is dependent thereon. Obviously, a general and independent authority, respecting the cancellation of policies, cannot [922]*922be reasonably implied, wben a cardinal purpose of the Insured, as manifested by the nature of the authority conferred by him on the agent, was to keep his property protected by insurance. * * *
“We conclude that, under the facts of this case, the consent of Bain for the Security Company policy to be canceled, and the notice to him of such cancellation were not binding on Landamore; and therefore the attempted cancellation was ineffective.”

The Kentucky Court of Appeals, in discussing a situation much like that now before this court, held, in the case of Stuyvesant Ins. Co. v. Barkett, 226 Ky. 424, 11 S.W.(2d) 87, that notice of cancellation of an insurance policy to a broker intrusted by the assured with the duty of keeping the property insured and of obtaining other insurance in lieu of canceled policies is notice to insured, provided the broker substitutes another policy, holding, in effect, that such no tice to a broker merely authorized to procure insurance and to keep insurance, and who does not substitute another policy, is not notice to the assured. In the case at bar, there was no substitution of other policies, and' the appellee, through no fault of his, was led to believe that the insurance was in force until after the house was burned. The agent Walter Isbell was the agent of the company and does not claim that as such agent he notified Cannon of the cancellation.

The policy of insurance in question stipulates generally for insurance against loss by fire without stating any exceptions, but subsequently states that the company shall not be held liable for loss caused by invasion, insurrection, riot, civil war, or commotion. The policy was not attached to plaintiff’s pleadings, neither were the exceptions pleaded by plaintiff.

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Bluebook (online)
79 S.W.2d 920, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/westchester-fire-ins-co-of-new-york-v-cannon-texapp-1934.