Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 33913
| Court | Court of Appeal of Missouri (US) |
| Writing for the Court | BRADY, C.J., DOWD, J., and VERNON W. MEYER |
| Citation | 477 S.W.2d 741 |
| Parties | Margaret WRAUSMANN, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. KANSAS CITY FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant. . Louis District |
| Docket Number | No. 33913,33913 |
| Decision Date | 22 February 1972 |
Page 741
v.
KANSAS CITY FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant.
Page 742
Klamen, Summers, Wattenberg & Compton, by Robert F. Summers, Clayton, for plaintiff-respondent.
Willson, Cunningham & McClellan, by J. H. Cunningham, Jr., St. Louis, for defendant-appellant.
CLEMENS, Commissioner.
This action on a fire insurance policy presents two briefed issues. First, does a straw party insurer have an insurable interest in insured property? Second, does an obligor on a promissory note, secured by a deed of trust on property, have an insurable interest in that property? We say yes and therefore need not consider the straw party issue.
Plaintiff Margaret Wrausmann had a $5,200 verdict and judgment against the defendant insurer and it appeals, contending for judgment on the ground plaintiff had no insurable interest in the damaged property.
This train of events led to plaintiff's judgment: (1) Early in 1964 Louis A. Mitleider bought a house and lot, taking title in the name of his secretary, plaintiff Margaret Wrausmann. (2) On February 13, 1964 Margaret Wrausmann, probably on behalf of Mr. Mitleider, borrowed $7,500 from the Jefferson Savings and Loan Association, giving a conventional deed of trust on the house and lot to secure her negotiable promissory note. By endorsement Mr. Mitleider guaranteed payment of the note. The lender knew Margaret Wrausmann was a straw party and considered Mr. Mitleider as primarily liable on the note. (3) On December 15, 1965 plaintiff executed and delivered a deed whereby she conveyed the property to Mr. Mitleider. (4) On October 10, 1966 while the note was still unpaid, the defendant insurer issued its one-year $10,000 fire insurance policy naming Margaret Wrausmann as the insured. (5) On January 25, 1967 fire caused $5,200 damage to the house.
For reasons following we reject defendant's contention that plaintiff had no insurable interest.
It is well settled that a valid contract of insurance must be based on 'insurable interest.' The question for decision is whether a person liable on a debtor's note, secured by a deed of trust upon property, has an insurable interest in that property. The issue does not appear to have been squarely decided in Missouri.
Missouri courts have defined 'insurable interest,' by adopting the language of 44 C.J.S. Insurance § 175: 'In...
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G.M. Battery & Boat Co. v. L.K.N. Corp., 69427
...destroyed, she was entitled to recover the entire face amount of the policy. In Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 477 S.W.2d 741 (Mo.App.1972), a person liable on a mortgage note, apparently as a "straw party," was held to have an insurable interest in property. A fami......
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DeWitt v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 65140
...American Insurance Co. v. Dean, 243 S.W. 415, 417 (Mo.App.1922) (dicta). See also Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire & Marine Insurance Co., 477 S.W.2d 741, 743 (Mo.App.1972) (person secondarily liable on promissory note secured by property has an insurable interest in the In light of the forego......
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Meyer v. MFA Mut. Ins. Co., 37413
...Sander v. Mid-Continent Insurance Co., 514 S.W.2d 634, 637 (Mo.App.1974); Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 477 S.W.2d 741, 742 MFA asserts that on the date of the fire Magalena had no insurable interest in the property and suffered no loss as a result of the fire because s......
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Prewitt v. Continental Ins. Co., 37204
...In Sander v. Mid-Continent Insurance Co., 514 S.W.2d 634, 637 (Mo.App.1974), and Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 477 S.W.2d 741, 742 (Mo.App.1972), 'insurable interest,' as taken from 44 C.J.S. Insurance § 175, was characterized as 'In general a person has an insurab......
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G.M. Battery & Boat Co. v. L.K.N. Corp., 69427
...destroyed, she was entitled to recover the entire face amount of the policy. In Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 477 S.W.2d 741 (Mo.App.1972), a person liable on a mortgage note, apparently as a "straw party," was held to have an insurable interest in property. A fami......
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DeWitt v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 65140
...American Insurance Co. v. Dean, 243 S.W. 415, 417 (Mo.App.1922) (dicta). See also Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire & Marine Insurance Co., 477 S.W.2d 741, 743 (Mo.App.1972) (person secondarily liable on promissory note secured by property has an insurable interest in the In light of the forego......
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Meyer v. MFA Mut. Ins. Co., 37413
...Sander v. Mid-Continent Insurance Co., 514 S.W.2d 634, 637 (Mo.App.1974); Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 477 S.W.2d 741, 742 MFA asserts that on the date of the fire Magalena had no insurable interest in the property and suffered no loss as a result of the fire because s......
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Prewitt v. Continental Ins. Co., 37204
...In Sander v. Mid-Continent Insurance Co., 514 S.W.2d 634, 637 (Mo.App.1974), and Wrausmann v. Kansas City Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 477 S.W.2d 741, 742 (Mo.App.1972), 'insurable interest,' as taken from 44 C.J.S. Insurance § 175, was characterized as 'In general a person has an insurab......