Insurance Underwriters' Agency v. Pride
| Decision Date | 09 May 1927 |
| Docket Number | (No. 436.) |
| Citation | 294 S.W. 19 |
| Parties | INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS' AGENCY v. PRIDE. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Mississippi County; W. W. Bandy, Judge.
Suit by J. P. Pride and another against the Insurance Underwriters' Agency. Judgment for plaintiff named, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.
G. T. Fitzhugh, of Memphis, Tenn., and J. T. Coston, of Osceola, for appellant.
Gravette & Alexander, of Blytheville, for appellee.
This suit was brought in the Chickasawba district of the circuit court of Mississippi county by appellee and Paul Howard against appellant, upon a fire insurance policy No. 818634, to recover $3,000, the face value thereof, for the destruction of a stock of goods and fixtures by fire on November 26, 1924. On June 29, 1925, Paul Howard met Bruce Richards, the adjuster of W. L. Nelson & Co., general agents of appellant, in their office in Memphis, Tenn., and made a statement to the effect that the policy sued upon was never accepted by him, but was attempted to be substituted by W. M. Burns, local insurance agent for appellant, in Blytheville, Ark., for a policy theretofore written by said Burns in the Liverpool, London & Globe Insurance Company, without his authority and consent, and that he (Howard) was not in accord with the action of J. P. Pride, the mortgagee of the goods and fixtures, in the employment of attorneys and the institution of this suit. After making the statement, he accepted $90 return premium on the policy sued upon and issued the following receipt for same:
On the same day Howard wrote and mailed the following letter to the attorneys which he and Pride had employed to bring the suit:
The attorneys answered by return mail to the effect that the suit would not be dismissed unless the court dismissed it.
Appellant filed a motion to dismiss the case when court convened. The motion was granted as to Paul Howard and denied as to J. P. Pride.
An answer was filed denying liability under the policy, and the cause proceeded to a trial in the name of J. P. Pride, resulting in a verdict and consequent judgment in favor of appellee for $1,200, from which is this appeal.
The facts briefly stated are as follows: Paul Howard purchased a stock of goods and fixtures in Blytheville, Ark., from J. P. Pride on May 31, 1924, which were insured for $5,000. Pride executed a bill of sale to Howard for the property, reserving the title in himself until the purchase money was paid. The fixtures were valued in the trade at $2,069 and the goods at $1,892. In November, 1924, after the stock had been reduced to some extent by sales, Pride and Howard applied to W. M. Burns who represented several insurance companies, including the company of appellant, for a cancellation of the $5,000 policy and issuance of a new policy for $3,000, $1,800 on the stock and $1,200 on fixtures,...
To continue reading
Request your trial