Gannaway v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 9571.
| Decision Date | 22 May 1935 |
| Docket Number | No. 9571.,9571. |
| Citation | 85 S.W.2d 345 |
| Parties | GANNAWAY et al. v. TRINITY UNIVERSAL INS. CO. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Appeal from District Court, Hidalgo County; Fred E. Bennett, Judge.
Suit by Trinity Universal Insurance Company against Julia S. Gannaway and another. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendants appeal.
Reversed and remanded for new trial.
Montgomery, Hall & Taylor, of Edinburg, and Polk & Thompson, of Pharr, for appellants.
Eskridge, Groce, Rice & Easterling and Walter Groce, all of San Antonio, Thompson, Knight, Baker & Harris, of Dallas, and Strickland, Ewers & Wilkins, of Mission, for appellee.
This suit was instituted in the district court of Hidalgo county, Tex., by Trinity Universal Insurance Company, a corporation, seeking to cancel a policy of windstorm insurance, apparently issued by the Capitol City Underwriters Agency, of Edinburg, Tex., to Mrs. Julia S. Gannaway, on the Bayview Tourist Apartments, situated on block 62, in the city of Port Isabel, Tex.
Mrs. Julia S. Gannaway, joined by her husband, L. A. Gannaway, filed a cross-action seeking to recover damages to said property resulting from a windstorm which occurred on September 4, 1933, which was the same day the policy was delivered. The principal ground upon which cancellation of this policy was sought, and upon which liability under the policy was denied by the Insurance Company, was the fact that the policy was actually executed and delivered by one T. J. Barfield, who was only a clerk and employee of the Capitol City Underwriters Agency, and that Barfield had countersigned said policy by signing the names of Capitol City Underwriters Agency and A. A. Aldrich, without authority to do so.
The Capitol City Underwriters Agency was a copartnership, composed of A. A. Aldrich and John C. Jones, each of whom were authorized to issue and countersign windstorm insurance policies for the insurance company. John C. Jones took practically no active part in the conducting of the affairs of the Capitol City Underwriters Agency, and A. A. Aldrich was the active manager of said agency and, when available, executed and countersigned all the policies of insurance issued by this agency.
Prior to September 4, 1933, Aldrich had left Edinburg and gone to Chicago for the purpose of attending the World's Fair, and had left Barfield in charge of the office of the Capitol City Underwriters Agency, with general authority to run the business of the agency in his absence. On the morning of September 4, 1933, L. A. Gannaway appeared at the office of the Capitol City Underwriters Agency and inquired for Mr. Aldrich. He was informed by Barfield that Aldrich was out of the city. He then asked Barfield to issue him a policy of insurance upon the Bayview Tourist Apartments, which were owned by his wife, Julia S. Gannaway. Whereupon Barfield executed and delivered the policy involved in this suit, signing same in the name of Capitol City Underwriters Agency by A. A. Aldrich.
Upon the trial of the cause Barfield testified that he had authority from Aldrich to sign his name to the policy of insurance, and Aldrich testified, in effect, that he did not have such authority. The trial judge, in submitting the case to the jury, inquired of the jury whether or not T. J. Barfield was...
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