Lafayette Bank and Trust Co. v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co.
| Decision Date | 20 March 1979 |
| Citation | 411 A.2d 937,177 Conn. 137 |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
| Parties | LAFAYETTE BANK AND TRUST COMPANY v. AETNA CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY. |
Philip Baroff, Bridgeport, with whom was Matthew B. Woods, Trumbull, for appellant (plaintiff).
Jerome D. Elbaum, for appellee (defendant).
Before COTTER, C. J., and LOISELLE, BOGDANSKI, LONGO and PETERS, JJ.
The plaintiff brought suit under a blanket bond insurance contract to recover for a loss arising out of a forged promissory note. The defendant interposed several defenses, including a special defense that the claim was barred by failure to give timely written notice as required by the contract. On this first defense, the defendant successfully moved for summary judgment, and the plaintiff appealed from the subsequent rendition of judgment for the defendant by the trial court.
The following underlying facts are not in dispute for the purposes of this appeal. The plaintiff Lafayette Bank and Trust Company was insured by the defendant Aetna Casualty and Surety Company under a Blanket Bond Standard Form No. 24. This bond is intended to protect the plaintiff against losses resulting from specified acts of dishonesty, including forgery. Section four of the bond stipulates: "At the earliest practicable moment after discovery of any loss hereunder the Insured (plaintiff) shall give the Underwriter (defendant) written notice thereof and shall also within six months after such discovery furnish to the Underwriter (defendant) affirmative proof of loss with full particulars." On August 13, 1974, the plaintiff lent $50,000 to Gilbert S. Shove and Mary Louise Shove in return for a promissory note signed by Gilbert S. Shove and bearing a signature purporting to be that of Mary Louise Shove. When the note was called for nonpayment, the plaintiff received notification from Attorney Frederick L. Comley, representing Mary Louise Shove, that she had not signed the note. This information was conveyed by telephone on November 12, 1975, or November 13, 1975, and was confirmed by a letter from Attorney Comley to the plaintiff's attorney, Philip Baroff. Attorney Baroff responded on December 9, 1975, asking Mrs. Shove to execute or guarantee a new note, an offer rejected by letter on December 16, 1975. Gilbert S. Shove admitted the forgery to officials of the plaintiff bank on April 19, 1976. The plaintiff filed a written notice of loss with the defendant by letter dated April 20, 1976. On May 13, 1976, the plaintiff filed its proof of loss with the defendant, attaching thereto an affidavit of Stephen B. Smith, a vice president of the plaintiff bank, certifying that "on November 13, 1975, this company discovered a loss due to forgery on a $50,000 note from Gilbert and Mary Louise Shove."
The trial court examined this evidence, which was attached by affidavit to the defendant's motion for summary judgment, and determined that there was no material dispute of fact as to the plaintiff's discovery...
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Dodson, In re
...and white." The general rule is that the admissions of an attorney are imputed to his client. Lafayette Bank & Trust Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 177 Conn. 137, 140, 411 A.2d 937 (1979); see 7 Am.Jur.2d, Attorneys at Law § 136.We note that it was not until November 28, 1988, at least......
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Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co. v. Murphy
...entirely discharges an insurance carrier from any further liability on its insurance contract. Lafayette Bank & Trust Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 177 Conn. 137, 139, 411 A.2d 937 (1979); West Haven v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 174 Conn. 392, 398, 389 A.2d 741 (1978); An......
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Friezo v. Friezo, 17456.
...imputed to his client"; (internal quotation marks omitted) id., at 511, 850 A.2d 273, quoting Lafayette Bank & Trust Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 177 Conn. 137, 140, 411 A.2d 937 (1979); and, therefore, the plaintiff in that case, who had not seen the relevant financial documents, po......
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Allen v. Nissley
...are performed in the furtherance of the business for which the attorney has been retained. See Lafayette Bank & Trust Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 177 Conn. 137, 140, 411 A.2d 937 (1979); Wesson v. F. M. Heritage Co., 174 Conn. 236, 243, 386 A.2d 217 (1978); Sweeney v. Pratt, 70 Conn......