Colonial Life & Acc. Ins. Co. v. Shotts

Decision Date07 November 1957
Docket Number6 Div. 163
Citation103 So.2d 181,267 Ala. 525
PartiesCOLONIAL LIFE & ACCIDENT INS. CO. v. Oscar M. SHOTTS, as Guardian.
CourtAlabama Supreme Court

Fite, Wilson & Fite, and Arthur Fite, Jr., Jasper, for appellant.

Fite & Fite, Hamilton, for appellee.

STAKELY, Justice.

Oscar M. Shotts, as guardian of Kathy Shotts and Debra Shotts, brought this suit against Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, a corporation, on a policy issued by the company on the life of Leon M. Shotts, father of the two children referred to, who died on February 28, 1955.

The policy provides insurance from the date of the policy against loss resulting directly, independently and exclusively of all other causes from bodily injuries effected solely through external, violent and accidental means during the term of the policy and sustained by the insured in a manner hereinafter described. The policy contains a provision that it is payable for injuries or loss of life sustained by the insured while riding in or driving a truck. The policy provides for a benefit of $10,000 for loss of life except that when the death covered by the provisions of this policy 'results from asphyxiation by inhaling any form of gas or vapor, the amount payable shall be one-fifth the amount otherwise payable for accidental death as provided by Part B.'

The case was tried before the court without the intervention of a jury with the result that the court entered a judgment for the plaintiff for $2,000, which is one-fifth of the amount payable under the policy for accidental death.

The proof is meager but under all the circumstances, we have concluded that it sustains the action of the court.

On February 28, 1955, the body of Leon M. Shotts was found by one R. L. Moralla, a member of the New Jersey State Police. It was located in the cab of a tractor trailer which was parked in a small, unpaved parking area located along the West Bound Lanes of United States Highway 92, in Clinton Township, just west of the Highview Diner in the State of New Jersey. The body was found at about 2:00 P.M. It was in the cab and was slumped over on its side with the head resting against the door just below the window. The cab was closed. The motor was not running. The gas tank was empty. The body was cold and the witness did not undertake to say how long the deceased had been dead. The so-called Parking Lot is 35 feet wide and 55 feet long and lies approximately ten feet from the north edge of the westbound lanes of the highway. The key to the ignition of the truck was in a vertical position, which is 'the on' position. The gas tank was empty and the battery was dead. Beside the body was found a metal suit case containing personal belongings. Death was the result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

It is first insisted by the appellant that there is no liability under...

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6 cases
  • Colonial Life & Acc. Ins. Co. v. Collins
    • United States
    • Alabama Supreme Court
    • January 26, 1967
    ...v. Wills, 273 Ala. 648, 143 So.2d 846; McKee v. Exchange Insurance Association, 270 Ala. 518, 120 So.2d 690; Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Shotts, 267 Ala. 525, 103 So.2d 181; New York Life Ins. Co. v. Torrance, 224 Ala. 614, 141 So. 547. But, where there is no ambiguity in the terms......
  • Trinity Universal Ins. Co. v. Robert P. Stapp, Inc.
    • United States
    • Alabama Supreme Court
    • October 17, 1963
    ...insurance policies, being framed by the insurer, are to be construed most favorably to the insured. Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Shotts, 267 Ala. 525, 103 So.2d 181; McKee v. Exchange Insurance Ass'n., 270 Ala. 518, 120 So.2d 690. And where a policy is fairly susceptible to differen......
  • U.S. Fire Ins. Co. v. McCormick
    • United States
    • Alabama Supreme Court
    • December 23, 1970
    ...used in a policy of insurance is framed by the insurer and is to be construed favorably to the insured. Colonial Life & Acc. Ins. Co. v. Shotts, 267 Ala. 525, 103 So.2d 181. Appellant further argues that the matter of coverage for McCormick is disposed of by virtue of endorsement G 236A, wh......
  • Wilson v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
    • United States
    • Alabama Supreme Court
    • March 10, 1989
    ...used in a policy of insurance is framed by the insurer and is to be construed favorably to the insured. Colonial Life & Acc. Ins. Co. v. Shotts, 267 Ala. 525, 103 So.2d 181." 286 Ala. at 536-37, 243 So.2d at The Court rejected the insurance company's reliance on Michigan Mutual in the follo......
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