Horton v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., No. 37260

• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: SMITH; NORWIN D. HOUSER and ALDEN A. STOCKARD
• Citation: 550 S.W.2d 806
• Parties: Walter HORTON and Keith Horton, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY CO., Defendant-Respondent. . Louis District, Division Four
• Docket Number: No. 37260
• Decision Date: 15 March 1977

Page 806

550 S.W.2d 806 Walter HORTON and Keith Horton, Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY CO., Defendant-Respondent. No. 37260. Missouri Court of Appeals, St. Louis District, Division Four. March 15, 1977.
Motion for Rehearing or for Transfer to Supreme Court Denied
May 6, 1977.
Application to Transfer Denied June 14, 1977.

Page 807

Carter & Becker, P. C., Donald S. Singer, Clayton, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Gerard Hempstead, St. Louis, for defendant-respondent; Evans & Dixon, Ralph C. Kleinschmidt, Gerre S. Langton, St. Louis, of counsel.

SMITH, Presiding Judge.

Plaintiffs appeal from a judgment in favor of defendant based upon a jury verdict.

Page 808

Plaintiffs sued defendant for the theft loss of an automobile under an insurance policy issued by defendant.

Plaintiffs make no attack upon the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict. Their basic attack is that as a matter of law they had an insurable interest in the vehicle, and since that was defendant's only defense, they were entitled to a directed verdict. Certain trial errors are also claimed, some of which are determined by the basic issue raised.

We review the facts in accord with the jury verdict, including all reasonable inferences which may be drawn from those facts. Keith Horton was 17 years old at the time of the acquisition of the automobile involved. Walter Horton is his father. On March 9, 1972, Keith purchased a 1968 black Camaro from a Mr. Pew. He received, at that time, a title to a 1968 Camaro with an identification number of 124378N329375. Neither plaintiff attempted to determine or knew whether the identification number on the title was the same as that affixed to the vehicle. The title was in the name of Carolyn Pew and a signature purporting to be hers appeared on the assignment of title. The signature was not at that time notarized, but Mr. Pew found a notary public who notarized the document. Keith received possession of the car at that time and immediately obtained insurance from defendant on the vehicle described in the title, including coverage for theft. Within five days after the purchase of the automobile, it was stolen, and has never been recovered. Keith and Walter Horton obtained from the Department of Revenue a title to the vehicle described in the Pew title. There is no dispute that this title was ordered immediately after the purchase of the vehicle from the Pews. Nor is any challenge made to the validity of Carolyn Pew's signature. This foregoing evidence was undisputed.

Following the theft a police investigation ensued which brought a Mr. Waller into the picture. On January 1 or 2, 1972, Mr. Waller's 1968 black Camaro was stolen. Based upon pictures of that vehicle, a similar scratch mark, certain special equipment, and general similarity of the automobiles, a jury could reasonably conclude that the vehicle stolen from Mr. Waller and that stolen from Keith Horton were the same. There was evidence that some differences between the cars were the product of changes made by Mr. Pew. There was also evidence that Mr. Pew sold to a Mr. Cragg some equipment from the Waller vehicle and offered to sell him other equipment originally on the Waller vehicle but not on the Horton vehicle when Keith purchased it.

There was further evidence that a white 1968 Camaro bearing a vehicle identification number of 124378N329375 was purchased in a wrecked condition by a Mr. James Egner, Belleville, Illinois, from a Mrs. Goldsmith. This vehicle was cannibalized and its parts used to rebuild another damaged car, which was sold to a Ms. Cummings. The cannibalized vehicle was then no more than a frame, non-repairable economically. This frame and the title, signed for transfer by Mr. Egner, were then given to an unknown young man providing he would haul the frame away.

The title history of the Waller car showed it was originally owned by a Michigan resident who sold it to Waller, who titled it in California. The identification number for that vehicle was 123378L340502. There was testimony that the vehicle identification number appears in the dashboard area and also in a place on the frame known only to the manufacturer and law enforcement authorities. The frame location varies according to the model and in some cases can be found only after cutting through structural portions of the vehicle.

Defendant contends that the evidence warranted the conclusion the Horton vehicle was the stolen Waller vehicle; the title application did not contain the true identification number for the vehicle actually transferred; the sale to the Hortons was therefore void pursuant to Sec. 301.210.4 RSMo 1969; therefore the Hortons had no insurable interest in the automobile.

Page 809

Plaintiffs contend that as a matter of law the holder of a Missouri Certificate of ownership has an insurable interest in the vehicle transferred with said title and that additionally they were good faith purchasers for value and had an insurable interest in the vehicle.

A certificate of title is only prima facie evidence of ownership and may be rebutted. Evidence that the certificate was not properly assigned can constitute such rebuttal. Case v. Universal Underwriters Ins. Co., 534 S.W.2d 635 (Mo.App.1976) (3, 4). The Missouri courts...