Life Investors Ins. Co. of America v. Johnson
| Decision Date | 15 September 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 81-1126,81-1126 |
| Parties | LIFE INVESTORS INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, Appellant, v. Eartha L. JOHNSON, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Leesfield & Blackburn, Miami, and Patrice A. Talisman of Daniels & Hicks, Miami, for appellant.
Ralph L. Flowers, Fort Pierce, for appellee.
Appellee Eartha L. Johnson purchased an automobile from Fred Coyne Chevrolet Company, Inc. In conjunction with the car sale, Johnson also purchased a credit disability insurance policy issued by appellant, Life Investors Insurance Company of America. The policy provided that if the insured were totally disabled and under the care of a doctor for more than 14 days the company would pay the insured creditor a daily benefit for the period of disability and medical treatment. Written notice of the claim was required to be given the company at its home office "or to any authorized agent" within 30 days of the occurrence or as "soon thereafter as ... reasonably possible" and proof of loss within 90 days thereafter. Claims were to be paid monthly subject to written proof of loss.
Johnson received a disabling injury at work. The company was eventually notified but, Johnson claims, did not pay according to its contract and as a result her car was repossessed. Johnson sued appellant for damages for breach of the contract. The trial judge directed a verdict on liability at the close of the defendant's case. The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $3,500.
The two points presented on appeal involve the direction of the verdict for Johnson and the inclusion of various improper elements of damage in the award.
Without detailing all of the evidence regarding notice to the company, suffice to say that reasonable men could differ on whether Johnson complied with the notice requirements of the policy. She was injured on March 7 but the company did not receive the notice at its home office until June 22. The reason for the delay was that Johnson obtained a claim form from Fred Coyne Chevrolet and mailed it to an address in West Palm Beach, Florida, furnished to her by Coyne Chevrolet. When payment was not forthcoming Johnson called the West Palm Beach office and was advised that the form should have been mailed to the company's home office. Apparently, the West Palm Beach office had sent the form on to appellant. Thereafter, correspondence between Johnson and appellant became confused because Johnson had an automobile accident in July and the proof of loss form sent to the company began to show conflicting disability periods. Johnson finally stopped sending proofs of loss, appellant stopped paying anything and Johnson's car was repossessed. It appears to us that there were issues for the jury relative to compliance with the notice requirements of the policy and, if notice was late, whether the company was prejudiced by the late notice. Also, a fact issue exists regarding the agency of Fred Coyne Chevrolet in furnishing claim...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
T.D.S. Inc. v. Shelby Mut. Ins. Co.
...if they were in the contemplation of the parties at the time of the creation of the insurance contract. See Life Investors Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 422 So.2d 32 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1982). Additionally, an insurer exposes itself to liability greater than the policy limits if its conduct also amount......
-
Miller v. Allstate Ins. Co.
...by evidence of what damages were in the contemplation of the parties at the time the contract was made. See Life Investors Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 422 So.2d 32 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). Under the certainty rule, which applies in both contract and tort actions, recovery is denied where the fact of d......
-
DiDomenico v. New York Life Ins. Co.
...damages were contemplated by the parties at the time the contract was executed. Id. at 555 (citing to Life Investors Ins. Co. of America v. Johnson, 422 So.2d 32 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)). Defendant asserts that Johnson, decided in 1982, was a pre-economic loss decision and, therefore, the case ......
-
Shearson Loeb Rhoades, Inc. v. Medlin
...things, be expected to follow its violation.' " Englehart, 157 A. at 258 (citations omitted). See also Life Investors Insurance Co. of America v. Johnson, 422 So.2d 32 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Tuttle/White Constructors, Inc. v. Montgomery Elevator Co., 385 So.2d 98 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980); First Na......
-
Recovery of mental distress damages in bad faith claims in Florida.
...of contract damages, costs, and, where statutorily authorized, attorneys' fees. See, e.g., Life Inv. Ins. Co. of America v. Johnson, 422 So. 2d 32 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Hobbley v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 450 So. 2d 332 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); and Baxter v. Royal Indem. Co., 285 So. 2d 652 (Fl......