Standard Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Ward

• Decision Date: 14 May 1898
• Parties: STANDARD LIFE & ACCIDENT INS. CO. v. WARD.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

45 S.W. 1065

STANDARD LIFE & ACCIDENT INS. CO. v. WARD.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

May 14, 1898.

Appeal from circuit court, Sebastian county; Edgar E. Bryant, Judge.

Action by Joseph N. Ward against the Standard Life & Accident Insurance Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed.

Dodge, Johnson, Carroll & Pemberton, for appellant. Ira D. Oglesby, for appellee.

BUNN, C. J.

This is a suit to recover, on an accident policy, the sum of $193, at the rate of $25 per week from the 21st November, 1894, to the 15th January, 1895, as an indemnity for injuries received on the 21st November 1894, and suffered during the period aforesaid, and for being thus incapacitated, during that time, from transacting his business. The suit was brought on complaint, with account attached, and the policy exhibited in one of the justices of the peace courts of Sebastian county; and, the defendant having filed its answer, judgment was for plaintiff for full amount of claim, and defendant appealed to the circuit court of the Ft. Smith district, of said county, and judgment was again for plaintiff, and defendant appeals to this court.

The portions of the application which are expressly made part of the policy, and of the policy, essential to the discussion and determination of the cause, are as follows: "I [that is, the plaintiff] hereby apply for insurance against bodily injuries, to be based upon the following statement of facts, all of which I hereby warrant to be true; if found untrue in any respect, then in every such case the policy issued hereon shall be null and void: * * * (3) My occupations are fully described as follows: Ice dealer and proprietor of transportation company, office work only." "I hereby agree that this application and warranty, together with the premium paid by me, shall be the basis of the contract between the company and me, and I accept the policy which said company shall issue upon this application, subject to all the conditions, provisions, and classifications contained in such policy referred to herein." And the policy begins thus: "The Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company, in consideration of the warranties in the application for this policy, and of a premium of twenty dollars, hereby insures Joseph N. Ward," etc. The evidence shows that the appellee, Ward, in addition to being engaged in the office work of the occupations of ice dealer and of a transfer business, had been for years, "off and on," as he puts it, in the cattle business, at the time of making the application and receiving the policy, and was then and afterwards engaged in said cattle business, and, in fact, the injury received by him for which he claims the indemnity was received while engaged in supervising or assisting in the details of this cattle business; that this business consisted in purchasing cattle in large or small lots, as opportunity presented itself, and in selling the same for profits, as he best could; that this business, for the year covered by the policy in suit, involved the buying and selling of about 1,500 cattle, and amounted to the sum of $15,000 or $20,000, and had been considerable in other years; and that the particular manner of receiving his injury was as follows: Some of the cattle so purchased by him having become afficted with bone worms, he had directed his veterinary surgeon to cut them out, and while the surgeon...