Ætna Life Insurance v. S. H. & S. Mining Co.
Ætna Life Insurance v. S. H. & S. Mining Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
A policy of insurance was written to .indemnify the appellee against loss “for damages on account of bodily injuries” suffered by its employees in its mining operations for one year from the date of the policy. The premium had been paid for six months of that time and this action was to recover the remainder, the period having expired.
The appellee pleaded a previous parol agreement with the appellant’s agent for a policy of insurance for six months only, and payment of the premium in Tull. It admitted that the appellant received and held The policy, a copy of which was attached to the petition, .and averred that relying upon the verbal agreement it
If the appellee insured with the appellant for one year it could not avoid liability for premiums by taking out other insurance covering a part of the same ■period. The fact that the appellant did not pay losses is immaterial and should have been stricken out, for there was no allegation or evidence that notice of any .accidents or losses had been given and no breach of the contract was claimed. The fact that the appellee took out other insurance — whether it received indemnity thereon or not — is also an immaterial matter which should have been eliminated from the answer, and upon which evidence should not have been received. The evidence in support of these immaterial allegations was prejudicial, for the jury would naturally infer "that, being admitted in support of express allegations of the answer, it tended to prove a defense.
The answer was not challenged except by the motion above referred to, and another motion to make more definite which was allowed. Nothing further is found
The judgment is reversed with directions to allow the motion to strike out parts of the answer and to. grant a new trial. - ■
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.