Victorian v. American Deposit Insurance Co.
Victorian v. American Deposit Insurance Co.
Opinion of the Court
In this case, summary judgment was granted by the lower courts in favor of American Deposit Insurance Company (“ADIC”) against its agent, Dimattia Insurance Company, for indemnification based upon a breach of the Producer Agreement between the parties. The merit of that summary judgment rests, in part, on the terms of that Producer Agreement. The relevant agreement between the defendant, ADIC, and the third party defendant, Dimattia, however, cannot be located according to ADIC. In light of this fact, the movant submitted the affidavit of Pat Owens, underwriting supervisor at ADIC, who attested that although the actual agreement between the parties cannot be found, Producer Agreements at that time provided for the indemnity that ADIC now seeks and that Dimattia must have signed one of those agreements. Importantly, a close read of Pat Owens’s affidavit reveals that it does not state that she has personal knowledge that the relied upon agreement between Dimattia and ADIC had been executed (i.e. that she had ever seen it). Her conclusion that Dimattia had signed its agreement was not based on personal knowledge, but upon assumptions on her part.
| ^Inasmuch as the other evidence submitted in support of the motion for
DECREE
The judgments of the lower courts are reversed, the motion for summary judgment is denied, and the ease is remanded to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Laura M. VICTORIAN, Albert Victorian, Ernest J. Victorian James C. Victorian, Lois A. Victorian and Charles A. Victorian, individually and on behalf of the Estate of Geraldine Victorian, consolidated with Lance Brown v. AMERICAN DEPOSIT INSURANCE COMPANY, Esteban Rodriguez, and James F. Kent
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published