Estate v. MMG Ins. Co.
Estate v. MMG Ins. Co.
Opinion of the Court
[¶ 1] MMG Insurance Company appeals from a summary judgment in favor of Curtis W. Frye, Daryl K. Frye, and the Estate of Carroll G. Frye (collectively, the Estate) entered by the Superior Court (Penobscot County, Anderson, J. ) on the Estate's action seeking enforcement of a property insurance contract for the loss of a dwelling by fire. MMG contends that the court erred by interpreting Carroll's insurance contract with MMG as providing coverage to the Estate, notwithstanding the Estate's lack of any insurable interest in the property after Carroll's death. We agree with MMG and vacate the judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
[¶ 2] Viewed in the light most favorable to MMG, as the nonprevailing party, the summary judgment record establishes the following undisputed facts. See Estate of Mason v. Amica Mut. Ins. Co. ,
[¶ 3] In 1994, Carroll G. Frye and Thelma Frye executed a deed conveying their residence in Eddington to their sons, Curtis and Daryl, but reserving a life estate in the property for themselves. Thelma died in 2013. After Thelma's death, Carroll purchased homeowner's insurance from MMG
G. Death
If any person named in the Declarations or the spouse, if a resident of the same household, dies, the following apply:
1. We insure the legal representative of the deceased but only with respect to the premises and property of the deceased covered under the policy at the time of death; and
2. "Insured" includes:
*161a. An "insured" who is a member of your household at the time of your death, but only while a resident of the "residence premises"; and
b. With respect to your property, the person having proper temporary custody of the property until appointment and qualification of a legal representative.
[¶ 4] Carroll died on January 8, 2014. Six weeks later, on February 25, 2014, there was a fire on the property. Curtis and Daryl were appointed personal representatives of the Estate on April 23, 2014.
[¶ 5] MMG paid the Estate's claim for loss of personal property from the fire but denied coverage for the dwelling itself. MMG cancelled the policy on August 12, 2014, and retained the entire premium collected for the 2013 to 2014 policy term.
[¶ 6] The Estate-through Curtis and Daryl as personal representatives-and Curtis and Daryl as individuals filed a complaint against MMG on December 22, 2015, alleging breach of contract and seeking a declaratory judgment that the loss of the dwelling from the fire is covered by the MMG policy.
[¶ 7] MMG and the Estate each moved for a summary judgment on both counts. The court granted the Estate's motion as to both counts and denied MMG's motion. The court concluded that Curtis and Daryl, as Carroll's only children, qualified as Carroll's "legal representatives" according to the policy's death clause and therefore had the right to enforce the policy. The court also determined that MMG was estopped from asserting that the Estate lacked sufficient interest in the property to enforce the policy because MMG's conduct misled Carroll regarding the scope of coverage and Carroll justifiably relied on that misleading conduct. Based on this determination, the court declared that Carroll's policy with MMG covered the loss of the dwelling from the fire that occurred after Carroll's death. MMG appeals.
II. DISCUSSION
[¶ 8] MMG challenges the court's entry of a summary judgment in favor of the Estate. We review the supported facts in the summary judgment record in the light most favorable to MMG, as the nonprevailing party, to determine de novo if any genuine issue of material fact exists for trial and whether, based on the undisputed facts, the Estate was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. See Estate of Mason ,
[¶ 9] Insurance coverage is enforceable when two conditions are met. The first condition is contractual, i.e., the claimed loss must fall within the scope of an executed policy. Harlor v. Amica Mut. Ins. Co. ,
[¶ 10] The second condition is statutory. Pursuant to 24-A M.R.S. § 2406 (2017), insurance coverage is enforceable only when the claimant has an insurable interest in the insured property:
1. No contract of insurance of property or of any interest in property or arising from property shall be enforceable as to the insurance except for the benefit of persons having an insurable interest in the things insured as at the time of the loss.
2. "Insurable interest" as used in this section means any actual, lawful, and substantial economic interest in the safety or preservation of the subject of the insurance free from loss, destruction, *162or pecuniary damage or impairment.2
The requirement of an insurable interest is central to the purpose of insurance generally, which is to indemnify the insured against his or her own pecuniary loss. Getchell v. Mercantile & Mfr's Mut. Fire Ins. Co. ,
A. Coverage Before Carroll's Death
1. Carroll
[¶ 11] There is no dispute that Carroll would have satisfied both conditions if the house had been damaged while he was alive. He and MMG executed a contract that covered the dwelling in Eddington for the period from August 12, 2013, to August 12, 2014, in which Carroll was the sole insured (both as the named insured and the sole resident of the dwelling).
[¶ 12] Carroll also had an insurable interest in the Eddington property that was the subject of the policy. Pursuant to the 1994 deed, Carroll reserved a life estate in the property when he deeded a remainder interest in the property to Curtis and Daryl (the remaindermen), but retained a possessory interest as a life tenant, allowing him to possess the property until his death. See 33 M.R.S. § 101 (2017) (stating that "an interest which must terminate not later than the death of one or more persons is a 'life estate' even though it may terminate at an earlier time"); Watson v. Cressey ,
[¶ 13] A person need not own property in fee simple to enjoy an insurable interest in that property. Getchell ,
2. Curtis and Daryl
[¶ 14] While Carroll was alive, Curtis and Daryl also enjoyed an insurable *163interest in the same property as the remaindermen, even in the absence of any right of possession. Hunter ,
[¶ 15] Although Curtis and Daryl had an insurable interest while Carroll was alive by virtue of their ownership of a remainder interest, they were not insured by Carroll's policy during this period because they were neither the "named insured" nor otherwise qualified for coverage pursuant to the language of the MMG policy. See Harrison ,
B. Coverage After Carroll's Death
[¶ 16] The parties dispute what coverage remained upon Carroll's death. It is settled law that when a life tenant dies, the property that is the subject of the life estate does not become part of the deceased's estate because the life tenant's interest in the property does not survive his death. Instead, the remaindermen immediately and automatically acquire all rights to the property. Forbes v. Am. Int'l Ins. Co. ,
1. Carroll's Estate
[¶ 17] As a matter of law, because Carroll had only a life estate, Carroll's Estate lacked any insurable interest in the real property as of the moment of Carroll's death.
[¶ 18] The parties dedicate much of their argument to whether Curtis and Daryl have authority to enforce the policy pursuant to the death clause, but because the real property never passed to Carroll's Estate, the death clause of the policy has no application to the real property. By its plain terms, the death clause sets out who can stand in Carroll's shoes to act on behalf of the Estate -as the insured decedent-in the enforcement of the policy as to the Estate's property.
[¶ 19] In short, although any covered property in Carroll's Estate remained insured after Carroll's death according to the terms of the death clause, the Estate had no insurable interest in the real property by operation of the established black-letter law of life estates. See Forbes ,
2. Curtis and Daryl
[¶ 20] Curtis and Daryl have had a continuous insurable interest in the property since 1994. From 1994 until Carroll's death, their insurable interest was as remaindermen; from Carroll's death forward, their insurable interest was as record owners (whose possessory rights had recently been created by their father's death). At no time, however, was Curtis and Daryl's interest in the property insured by MMG's policy. See Huard v. Pion ,
[¶ 21] When the fire occurred on February 25, 2014, several weeks after Carroll's death, none of the parties was both insured by MMG and in possession of an insurable interest. We conclude that section 2406 precludes enforcement of the policy as to the dwelling as a matter of law, and we therefore vacate the entry of a summary judgment in favor of the Estate and remand for entry of a summary judgment in favor of MMG.
The entry is:
Judgment vacated. Remanded for entry of a judgment in favor of MMG Insurance Co. on all counts.
MMG had continuously insured the property since 1946.
The policy here duplicated the substance of 24-A M.R.S. § 2406 (2017) by requiring an insurable interest: "[W]e will not be liable in any one loss ... [t]o an 'insured' for more than the amount of such 'insured's' interest at the time of loss ...."
This does not create double coverage; the amount of coverage and the compensation owed to each in the event of a loss is calculated based on the value of each interest at the time of the loss. See Converse v. Boston Safe Deposit & Tr. Co. ,
The Superior Court concluded that it "need not resolve the issue of whether an insurable interest existed at the time of the loss," because it determined that MMG was "estopped from raising such argument." "The doctrine of equitable estoppel bars the assertion of the truth by one whose misleading conduct has induced another to act to his detriment in reliance on what is untrue." Stickney v. City of Saco ,
The court's reliance on equitable estoppel in this matter was erroneous for several reasons, including that equitable estoppel was not raised by any of the parties in their pleadings, nor argued in their summary judgment memoranda; the summary judgment record contains no undisputed facts that would support a judgment as a matter of law on the elements of equitable estoppel; and no factual findings of any kind properly could be made at the summary judgment stage, see Alexander v. Mitchell ,
By the terms of the policy, either (1) Carroll's "legal representative," if one existed, or (2) a person with "proper temporary custody," if a legal representative did not yet exist, could enforce the policy on behalf of the Estate. See Allstate Ins. Co. v. O'Shaughnessy ,
Each of the cases on which Curtis and Daryl rely is easily distinguishable; in none of them did the decedent have only a life estate in the entire property at issue, and thus, in each, the decedent's estate retained an insurable interest in some portion of the property after the decedent's death. E.g. , Gray v. Holyoke Mut. Fire Ins. Co. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ESTATE OF Carroll G. FRYE v. MMG INSURANCE COMPANY
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published