Chatfield v. Farm Bureau Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 10 November 1953 |
| Docket Number | No. 6626.,6626. |
| Citation | 208 F.2d 250 |
| Parties | CHATFIELD et al. v. FARM BUREAU MUT. AUTO. INS. CO. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
C. Woodrow Teague and Thomas A. Banks, Raleigh, N. C. (Hubert H. Senter, Franklinton, N. C., William Y. Bickett, I. Edward Johnson, Charles W. Barbee, Jr., Grady S. Patterson, Jr., Leon S. Brassfield, Armistead J. Maupin, Robert Ruark, J. C. Moore, Raleigh, N. C., Hill Yarborough and E. F. Yarborough, Louisburg, N. C., on the brief), for appellants.
John H. Anderson, Jr., and Willis Smith, Jr., Raleigh, N. C. (Oscar Leach and J. K. Dorsett, Raleigh, N. C., on the brief), for appellee.
Before PARKER, Chief Judge, and SOPER and DOBIE, Circuit Judges.
Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (hereinafter called Insurer) brought a civil action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, seeking a declaratory judgment as to its liability under an automobile liability insurance policy issued to C. A. Payne, as "named insured," on his 1947 Chevrolet. In this action it was necessary to determine whether or not the "actual use" of this automobile, which was being driven by Raymond Chatfield at the time it was involved in a collision on September 12, 1951, was with the "permission" of Payne within the meaning of the "omnibus clause" of the insurance policy. The policy provided that its provisions would be extended to "any person while using the automobile * * * provided the actual use of the automobile is by the named insured or with his permission."
The defendants in this action are the driver of Payne's automobile, Chatfield, and the persons who instituted civil actions against Chatfield and others for the death of a child riding in Payne's car and the deaths of two passengers in the other car involved in the collision.
The District Judge submitted to the jury the following question: "Was Raymond Chatfield at the time of the collision driving the insured automobile with the permission, either express or implied, of the named insured or anyone having authority to bind him in that regard?"
At the close of all the evidence, the court being of the opinion that the jury should be directed to answer the issue "No" and in favor of the plaintiff, and having directed the jury to so answer said issue, as appears in the record, and the jury having answered the same as directed by the court, it was thereupon adjudged and decreed by the District Court:
"* * * said defendant Chatfield was not operating or using said automobile with the permission of C. A. Payne, and said Raymond E. Chatfield was therefore not `an insured\' with respect to the insurance for bodily injury liability or for property damage liability afforded and provided by Policy No. R-931-433B issued by the plaintiff to said C. A. Payne with respect to the aforesaid 1947 Chevrolet automobile."
From this judgment, defendants have appealed to us.
The only issue we consider on this appeal is whether the District Judge erred in directing, as a matter of law, a verdict for the plaintiff. We think he did err and that the question of "permissive use" by Chatfield of Payne's automobile, within the coverage of plaintiff's insurance policy, should have been submitted to the jury under proper instructions. We must, therefore, remand the case for a new trial.
The facets of this case are many and varied. We must outline in some detail the facts and background which the evidence tended to prove. This factual setup is extensive and complicated.
Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Payne lived in Franklinton, North Carolina, where for several years prior to September 11, 1951, they jointly owned and operated a motion picture theatre. Adjoining the theatre is a building in which there is a cafe, also jointly owned by Mr. and Mrs. Payne and operated by their daughter, Mrs. W. A. Hardy and other members of the Payne family. The second floor of this cafe was occupied as living quarters of Mr. and Mrs. Payne, their daughter and her husband (Mr. and Mrs. Hardy), their granddaughter and her husband (Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Eugene Chatfield) and several minor children of the Hardys and Chatfields.
In connection with Mr. and Mrs. Payne's theatre was a bank account in the name of "The Franklinton Theatre" on which both Mr. and Mrs. Payne had authority to draw checks and make deposits. As of September 11, 1951, the only employees of the theatre other than Mr. and Mrs. Payne were: Rufus Catlett who operated the projection machine; a popcorn boy, and Raymond Chatfield. Subsequently, in the absence of Mr. Payne, Mrs. Payne employed an unidentified girl to work at the theatre. Mr. Payne usually took up the tickets; Mrs. Payne usually sold the tickets and made bank deposits; Catlett's only duty was to operate the projection machine; the duty of the popcorn boy was to sell popcorn; and Chatfield's duties were not limited to any one task.
Payne owned a 1947 Chevrolet automobile; Mrs. Hardy owned a 1948 Studebaker automobile for her own use; and she purchased a 1941 Studebaker to be used generally in the delivery of food for the cafe and for the further personal use of her son-in-law, Chatfield. The keys to this 1941 Studebaker were kept hanging on a nail in the cafe. Mrs. Payne could not operate an automobile. On at least one occasion prior to September 11, 1951, Payne had given his specific permission for Chatfield to operate this 1947 Chevrolet automobile, on which occasion Chatfield and his wife went to Carolina Beach for a five day vacation.
On September 11, 1951, Payne was stricken with a heart attack and was taken by ambulance to Rex Hospital, Raleigh, North Carolina. The Chevrolet was parked back of the apartment, where it was generally kept when not in use. Its keys were left in the pocket of Payne's clothes, lying on a chair in his bedroom. Mrs. Payne placed these keys in her handbag for safe keeping. Payne's condition was apparently such that he was unable to give any specific instructions of any kind regarding his personal or his business affairs.
The following day, September 12, 1951, when Catlett, the projectionist, was off duty, Mrs. Payne was preparing to visit her stricken husband and, unable to drive, she got Mrs. Hardy to drive her to Raleigh in Mrs. Hardy's Studebaker. Just before leaving for the hospital, Mrs. Payne asked Chatfield if he would like to accompany her and Mrs. Hardy to visit Payne. Chatfield replied in the negative, saying he had to go to Wake Forest, North Carolina, to obtain an electrical switch for the projection machine. Mrs. Payne asked Chatfield if he would like to drive Payne's Chevrolet, and Chatfield said that it did not make any difference. Mrs. Payne removed the keys to the Chevrolet from her handbag and handed them to Chatfield.
Chatfield, accompanied by his wife, drove Payne's Chevrolet to Wake Forest, about nine miles south of Franklinton. Mrs. Payne testified at the trial that she saw Mr. and Mrs. Chatfield in the Chevrolet and that she did not object.
Chatfield was unable to locate the man in Wake Forest, a Mr. Arrington, from whom he had hoped to obtain the switch for the projection machine so he returned to Franklinton without having accomplished anything toward the repair of the machine. Chatfield had never operated the projection machine in its then state of disrepair. Upon their return to Franklinton, Mr. and Mrs. Chatfield found that Mrs. Hardy and Mrs. Payne had not returned from their visit to Mr. Payne.
Chatfield, then, with the youngest Chatfield child and the minor child of Mrs. Hardy, drove the Chevrolet to a cabin not far from Franklinton, where Chatfield found the regular projectionist, who was cooking barbecue.
Chatfield repeated several times in his testimony that he did not go to the cabin for the purpose of seeing Catlett and, when he started the trip to the cabin, he (Chatfield) did not know that Catlett would be at the cabin. Chatfield and Catlett there talked about twenty minutes, but, according to the testimony of both, nothing was said about the defective switch, the motion-picture business or even the illness of Payne, their employer. Catlett also testified that on the night of September 12, 1951, as well as on previous occasions, he operated the projection machine with the master switch, without using the defective switch which had given rise to Chatfield's trip to Wake Forest. Chatfield testified, though, that when he started the trip to the cabin, he had expected to operate the projector that night.
On the way back from the cabin to Franklinton, the Chevrolet, driven by Chatfield, collided with the deBaun automobile, causing the deaths, personal injuries and property damage that form the basis of the civil actions against Chatfield and C. A. Payne, which are still pending.
There is no evidence in the record that Payne had expressly authorized Mrs. Payne to permit any one to drive the Chevrolet while he was in the hospital. The policy in question stated: "The purposes for which the automobile is to be used are Business and Pleasure."
This case is governed by the law of North Carolina. The legislative trend in this direction is indicated by North Carolina General Statutes, § 20-227(2) (b) requiring, under the "Motor Vehicle Safety and Financial Responsibility Act," that every owner's policy shall:
"Insure as insured the person named, and any other person using or responsible for the use of the motor vehicle with the permission, expressed or implied, of the named insured, or any other person in lawful possession".
And Chapter 494 of the 1951 Session Laws of North Carolina provides:
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