Wesselman v. Travelers Indemnity Company
Cases that cite this one
10 later published cases cite this decision.
- Graingrowers Warehouse Co. v. Central National Insurance Co. of Omaha (District Court, E.D. Washington 1989)
- Closser v. Penn Mutual Fire Insurance (Del. 1983)
- Rory v. Continental Insurance (Mich. 2005)
- Camelot Excavating Co., Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. (Mich. 1981)
- Delaware Human and Civil Rights Commission, Sedghi and Segdhi v. Schell Brothers, LLS and Horner (Superior Court of Delaware 2025)
- Aei Life LLC v. Lincoln Benefit Life Co. (2d Cir. 2018)
- In re Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. Derivative Litigation (United States District Court for the Northern District of California 2009)
- Kentucky League of Cities, Inc. v. General Reinsurance Corp. (District Court, W.D. Kentucky 2001)
- Weiss v. Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Delaware (United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of The First Circuit 1997)
- Rumsey Electric Co. v. University of Delaware (Del. 1976)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion
Plaintiff appeals from an adverse summary judgment in an action on an insurance contract for theft of personal property. The question is whether the limitation period specified in the contract prevails over the Statute of Limitations of the State in which the contract was issued.
This action was commenced more than two years after the loss. The insurance contract contained a 12 month limitations period “after the inception of the loss”. The State of Indiana, in which the contract was issued, had a ten year limitations period for all contract actions. The policy here contained the following “conformity” clause:
“The terms of this policy which are in conflict with the statutes of the State *424 wherein this policy is issued are hereby amended to conform to such statutes.”
The Superior Court ruled that there was no “conflict” between the contract limitations period and the Statute of Limitations and that the former controls. We agree.
It is generally held that, in the absence of express statutory provision to the contrary, a statute of limitations does not proscribe the imposition of a shorter limitations period by contract. More specifically, a “conformity” clause, such as existed here, serves to waive or amend a policy limitation clause only when there is an express statutory prohibition against a contract limitations period less than that prescribed by statute. See, e.g., Wulf v. Farm Bureau Insurance Co. of Nebraska, 190 Neb. 34, 205 N.W.2d 640 (1973).
In the absence of an express statutory prohibition, the provision in the instant insurance policy, limiting the time in which suit may be brought thereon to a period less than that set by the Statute of Limitations, is not deemed to be in conflict with the Statute and is controlling. See Armour & Company v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 7 Cir., 484 F.2d 1062 (1973); McMahon v. Millers National Insurance Company, 131 Ill.App.2d 339, 266 N.E.2d 714 (1971).
The plaintiff also contends that the conformity clause created an ambiguity that should be resolved against the insurance company. This argument is unmeri-torious. Compare Ottendorfer v. Aetna Insurance Company, Del.Supr., 231 A.2d 263 (1967). Also, the plaintiff’s reliance upon Eber Bros. Wine & Liquor Corp. v. Firemen’s Insurance Company of Newark, S.D.N.Y., 30 F.Supp. 412 (1939) is misplaced by reason of significant differences in fact and law.
******
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.