Briggs v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 13384

• Decision Date: 08 November 1984
• Docket Number: No. 13384,13384
• Parties: Paul L. BRIGGS and Cindy Briggs, his wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 444

680 S.W.2d 444

Paul L. BRIGGS and Cindy Briggs, his wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, Defendant-Respondent.

No. 13384.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Southern District,

Division Three.

Nov. 8, 1984.

Lloyd G. Briggs, Briggs & Briggs, Sikeston, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Donald L. Dickerson, Jeffrey S. Maguire, Thomasson, Dickerson, Gilbert & Cook, Cape Girardeau, for defendant-respondent.

TITUS, Judge.

Defendant State Farm Fire & Casualty Company by its policy issued June 20, 1980, insured a house owned by plaintiffs, husband and wife. Exactly four months thereafter or on October 20, 1980, there was a fire at the premises. The fire was said to have been set by a burglar-arsonist who allegedly possessed a key to the house and who perished in the flames. Defendant paid plaintiffs some $32,000 because of fire damage to the property. Included in that figure was a $3,000 allowance on plaintiffs' claim for lost rent. Defendant refused plaintiffs' claim for fire damage to personal property. This prompted plaintiffs to sue for personal property damage, vexatious refusal to pay and for attorney fees. The trial court directed a verdict for defendant at the conclusion of plaintiffs' evidence and plaintiffs appealed.

As pertinent here, the policy provided: "COVERAGE B--PERSONAL PROPERTY ... Property Not Covered. We do not cover: ... 7. property regularly rented or held for rental to others by any insured, except property of an insured in a sleeping room rented to another by an insured."

At the time of the fire plaintiff Paul Briggs, son of Lloyd G. Briggs, Sr. and Juanita Briggs, was incarcerated in a federal penitentiary and had been so incarcerated for an extended period of time prior thereto. Plaintiff Cindy Briggs, wife of Paul, was pregnant at the time of her husband's incarceration and near the commencement of the imprisonment left the insured house and moved in with her in-laws.

Juanita Briggs testified that she rented the house furnished, in part, to Bob Scanlon on a month-to-month basis at a monthly rental of $250. He was given a key to the house. Mrs. Briggs recounted "I think [Scanlon] rented it in July ... but maybe it was August" 1980. Scanlon continued renting until the October fire. In addition to the cash rental, Scanlon "was to take care of the yard; he was to water the trees that we had just planted, some 15 or 20 fruit trees ... and he was to keep everything neat and clean." Scanlon "was to have the light bill put in his name" and was to have use of the TV room (converted by Mrs. Briggs into a bedroom), the kitchen and the living room. Although not expressly mentioned in the testimony, it appears that of necessity Scanlon would also have use of a bathroom in the leased house.

In its ordinary sense the word "room" means a single enclosure separated by partitions or other means from the other parts of a house or building. State v. Barge, 82 Minn. 256, 84 N.W. 911, 913, 53 L.R.A. 428 (1901); 77 C.J.S. Room, pp. 538-539; Webster's Third New...