Dowd v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co.

• Decision Date: 01 March 1966
• Docket Number: No. 65-539,65-539
• Citation: 183 So.2d 558
• Parties: Nancy M. DOWD, Appellant. v. UNITED STATES FIDELITY AND GUARANTY COMPANY, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 558

183 So.2d 558

Nancy M. DOWD, Appellant. v. UNITED STATES FIDELITY AND GUARANTY COMPANY, Appellee.

No. 65-539.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

March 1, 1966.

Rehearing Denied March 16, 1966.

Wall, Roth & Sheradsky, Miami, for appellant.

Carey, Terry, Dwyer, Austin, Cole & Stephens and Edward A. Perse, Miami, for appellee.

Before HENDRY, C. J., and TILLMAN PEARSON and SWANN, JJ.

SWANN, Judge.

Nancy M. Dowd, plaintiff below, appeals from a final decree in chancery, in which the court found that title to an automobile had passed to her prior to an accident, and therefore she could not recover under the uninsured motorist provision of the insurance policy issued by the defendant, United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, to a third party, who was the former owner of the motor vehicle.

The plaintiff sued the insurance company for a declaratory decree to determine her rights under the policy. At final hearing, the testimony of the two witnesses present was in conflict as to the essential facts. A final decree was entered against the plaintiff, which stated as follows:

'THIS CAUSE came on for Final Hearing upon the Plaintiff's Petition for Declaratory Decree, on Thursday, April 8, 1965. The plaintiff, NANCY M. DOWD, and a representative of Pan American Motors, one George Pariso, appeared and testified before this Court.

'The Plaintiff, NANCY M. DOWD, was injured in an automobile accident on May 6, 1964, while driving a certain 1959 Oldsmobile. The accident occurred at the intersection of N.W. 27th Avenue and N.W. 14th Street, Miami, Dade County, Florida. The other vehicle involved, a 1951 Plymouth, was uninsured.

'The Plaintiff alleged that the vehicle she was driving at the time of the above accident was owned by Pan American Motors and insured by the Defendants, UNITED STATES FIDELITY AND GUARANTY COMPANY, a Maryland corporation, and that she was negotiating for the purchase of said vehicle. Said Insurance Company insured Pan American Motors, and contained in the policy of insurance was a Family Protection Clause providing uninsured motorists, coverage. The Defendant, UNITED STATES FIDELITY AND GUARANTY COMPANY, alleged that the vehicle driven by the Plaintiff, NANCY M. DOWD, at the time of the within accident was owned by the plaintiff; that she had purchased said vehicle prior to the accident; and that, therefore, the Defendant, UNITED STATES FIDELITY AND GUARANTY COMPANY, was not liable under the terms of its policy of insurance.

'After considering the evidence offered by the parties,...