Moss v. Union Mutual Insurance
Moss v. Union Mutual Insurance
Opinion of the Court
On May 13,1964, defendant Union Mutual Insurance Company of Providence issued a 3-year “scheduled property floater” to plaintiffs Sol and Ida Moss covering specific property listed in the personal articles schedule endorsement. On August 26, 1964 this endorsement was amended to include 1 lady’s diamond ring which had been purchased by Sol Moss, who gave it to his son. The younger Moss then gave it to Linda Epstein, whom he subsequently married. In May, 1966, on Mother’s Day, Linda discovered a large chip in the diamond and on the following day Sol Moss filed a claim which was denied by defendant. Suit was instituted in the common pleas court for the city of Detroit, which resulted in a nonjury verdict for plaintiffs on October 13, 1966. Defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial was denied November 14, 1966.
The questions raised on appeal will be discussed seriatim.
Scope of Review.
Plaintiffs first contend that “defendant-appellant cannot for the first time on appeal argue that plaintiff-appellees failed to sustain pecuniary loss and thus have no insurable interest, when defendant-appellant failed to bring this issue to the attention
We agree that as a general rule issues not presented to the trial court are not proper subject matter for appellate consideration. The rule urged by plaintiffs is not applicable in this case, since lack of insurable interest was set up as an affirmative defense in defendant’s answer and was again advanced by defendant in its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial. The phrase “pecuniary loss” does not signify a concept separate and distinct from insurable interest. Rather, the risk of direct pecuniary loss by damage to or destruction of the described property is the very definition of insurable interest. Crossman v. American Insurance Company of Newark, N. J. (1917), 198 Mich 304. Thus we hold that defendant does not by the use of this phrase inject a novel issue into this case.
Waiver.
A provision of this insurance policy stated:
“This endorsement covers only with respect to such and so many of the following classes of property as are indicated by a specific amount of insurance applicable thereto, and a premium charged therefor, which property is owned by or in the custody or control of the insured and members of the insured’s family of the same household.”
It is conceded that Linda and her husband were not members of the “insured’s family of the same household.”
The thrust of plaintiffs’ argument is that the defendant could and did waive the restriction set out above.
The question of waiver of lack of insurable interest in property was settled early in Michigan by Agricultural Insurance Company of Watertown, New York v. Montague (1878), 38 Mich 548, in which Mr. Justice Cooley wrote at p 551:
“The argument was that, as the company, through its agent, had knowledge of all the facts, and still granted the policy, the issuing of the policy was a waiver of all objection on that score. This view was accepted by the court, and the jury was instructed accordingly. If the instruction was correct, it is manifest that any person may obtain insurance upon property without any right in it whatsoever; he has but to disclose the facts, and the policy, though only a wager policy, will be as legal as any other. But such a doctrine is at war with the fundamental principles of insurance, which require that a person shall have an insurable interest before he can insure: a policy issued when there is no such interest is void, and it is immaterial that it is taken in good faith and will full knowledge. The policy of the law does not admit of such insurance, however willing the parties may be to enter into it. The doctrine of waiver has obviously nothing to do with such a case.”
Existence of Insurable Interest.
We are finally brought to the question of whether or not plaintiffs had an insurable interest at the time of the loss. Defendant contends that they did not.
The leading Michigan case on what constitutes an insurable interest in property is Crossman, supra, called by Appleman “one of the finest discussions and analyses of leading cases.”
“The unrippled current of authority is to the effect that title to, or lien upon, property, is not essential to an insurable interest. Measured by the standard fixed in the cases quoted from, and cited, Did Craig have an insurable interest in this property? He had an option upon this property, a right to buy it, an enforceable right, for which he paid over $2,500. Was that right of more value with the building standing than with the building destroyed? Would he suffer direct pecuniary loss in the value of his right by its destruction? Would he be damaged pecuniarily by the loss of the building?” Crossman v. American Insurance Company of Newark, N. J., supra, at p 311.
In Macarty v. Commercial Insurance Co. (1841), 17 La 365 (08) (9 La 223 [NS] [1854 reprint]), plaintiff insured certain real property against fire and later gave the land to another, the only qualification on the gift being that the donee could only dispose of the land by last will and testament. Thereafter a fire occurred and plaintiff sought recovery on the policy. Recovery was denied on the basis of lack of insurable interest at the time of the loss, the court stating at p 369 (p 226 NS):
“A policy of insurance against fire is a personal contract of indemnity with the insured; if the latter parts with all his interest in the property before the loss happens, the policy becomes void unless it has been assigned to the new proprietor with the consent of the underwriters.”
Facts even more closely resembling those involved in this appeal are found in Ludeau v. Phoenix Insurance Co. (1947, Tex Civ App), 204 SW2d 1008. A donor of an engagement ring sought recovery under an “all risks” policy when, after the gift, the ring was stolen from the donee, his fiancee. The claim was resisted by the insurer for lack of insurable interest. The court sustained the insurer, holding that even though the gift was “conditional,” the donor at the time of the loss had no present insurable interest in the engagement ring.
In this case, plaintiffs have no title to the ring; nor do they show any reversionary, security, or other interest in it which might subject them to “'direct pecuniary loss”, by its damage or destruction. Logic, policy, and precedent militate against
Costs to appellant.
4 Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice, § 2123, p 22, footnote 30.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). I do not think the contract of insurance entered into by the Mosses and the defendant insurance company covering their prospective daughter-in-law’s engagement ring violated the public policy of this State. And whether it violated public policy is the core question.
The majority emphasizes Crossman’s
In determining whether a policy of insurance is a wagering, gambling contract, evidence that the insured has suffered a pecuniary loss, as in Cross-man, establishes that the insurance policy is not of the prohibited kind. The converse is not necessarily true.
“The rule is tersely stated in 14 RCL p 910: ‘It may be said, generally, that anyone has an insurable interest in property who derives a benefit from its existence or would suffer loss from its destruction.’ ” (Emphasis supplied.)
This record contains ample evidence to support a determination that the Mosses derived a benefit from the existence of the ring. Indeed, we could affirm on the basis that the evidence would have justified an express
The Mosses had sufficient interest in her wearing a $1,000 diamond engagement ring to provide the ring. Having purchased the ring, they could have regarded their assumed obligation discharged. However, they paid an additional amount to insure the ring against loss. Having been importuned for one ring, they perhaps wished to protect themselves against a repeat performance. They might well have anticipated the possibility of yet another, and successful, plea from their son should the young-lady, once having established herself as the wearer of such an ornament, lose it.
They were not strangers to the wearer. The loss of the ring could well be the source of further expense. Their son was not yet self-supporting, at least when it came to the purchase of such a ring.
Nor were they strangers to the ring. The purchase of the ring may well have required a sacrifice. The schedule of specifically insured property attached to their homeowner’s policy shows this to be the most valuable item listed. It is not our task to measure the importance of the ring to the parties or to weigh it on our scale of values. Man does not live by bread alone. Their son’s, their daughter-in-law’s, and perhaps their own, peace of mind might have been or become involved. Their interest was not remote. Public policy, as expressed in the insurable interest doctrine, does not require its forfeiture.
The present law of insurable interest evolved from a futile search for symmetry with familiar doctrines of property law.
The query “Is there an insurable interest?”
Crossman, as quoted in the majority opinion, says (p 311) that “title to, or lien upon, property, is not essential to an insurable interest.” Earlier the Crossman Court observed (p 308) that “it may be a special interest entirely disconnected from any title, lien or possession.” Yet the majority here concludes with the statement that the Mosses had neither title to nor any reversionary or security interest in the ring. It has been observed:
“The requirement of insurable interest in property insurance, like most legal abstractions, has developed over the centuries primarily through judicial resolution of relatively isolated problems. Seldom have the courts examined the entire practice in terms of meaningful underlying policies, and the myopic views of older cases, canonized by precedent, often reflect themselves too brightly in later years to the detriment of sound modern analysis.” Har-nett and Thornton, Insurable Interest in Property: A socio-economic re-evaluation of a legal concept. 48 Colum L R 1162, 1163 (1948).
In the cited article, the authors discuss varying tests, e.g., “property right,” “contract right” and “legal liability,” but conclude the best is the so-called “factual expectation of damage” test — the expectation of economic advantage if the insured property continues to exist, or, stated negatively, the expectation of economic disadvantage upon damage to the insured property. They concede prece-dential support for the test they favor is “uncertain.”
Any test will inevitably fail because attention will inevitably focus on the test rather than on the
While, as the majority points out, no act of the insurer or agent can waive the insurable interest requirement, the trial judge could properly consider testimony of the agent who wrote the policy in appraising whether it would violate the public policy of this State to permit the Mosses to insure the ring. The agent testified that in a large number of cases the young man’s father purchases and insures the ring, that his agency writes such insurance 2 or 3 dozen times a year, that the customary procedure in each case is to bind the insurance pending receipt of an appraisal and determination by the insurer, based on information concerning the girl’s school, work, and general living situation, whether it desires to write the risk.
An adequate commentary on the state of the law of insurable interest
The view I take requires consideration of the insurer’s claim that the Mosses may not recover because the policy covers only property which “is owned by or in the custody or control of the insured and members of the insured’s family of the same household.”
The daughter-in-law was not a member of the insured’s family of the same household. The Mosses assert, however, that the insurer waived that requirement. At trial the agent testified that before the insurance was written an appraisal of the ring was obtained and forwarded to the insurer, containing the following statement: “The wearer of the ring is Linda Epstein,” the young lady’s maiden
“A policy of insurance is not void for the reason that the insured was not [as required by the policy]
That the knowledge of the agent will be deemed the knowledge of the insurer, see Hawkeye Casualty Co., Inc., v. Holcomb (1942), 302 Mich 591, 604; Cap-paert v. Emmco Insurance Co., Inc., (1943), 304 Mich 130, 134; Prudential Insurance Company of America v. Cusick (1963), 369 Mich 269, 283; and Lipsky v. Washington National Insurance Company (1967), 7 Mich App 632, 636.
In Clawson v. Citizens’ Mutual Fire Insurance Co. (1899), 121 Mich 591, the insured had stated “deed”
I would affirm the judgment.
Crossman v. American Insurance Company of Newark, N. J. (1917), 198 Mich 304.
The trial judge did not file findings of fact. See GOB 1963, 517.1.
See, e. g., Citizens State Bank of Clare v. State Mutual Rodded Sire Ins. Co. of Michigan (1936), 276 Mich 62; Guiterman v. German-American Insurance Co. (1897), 111 Mich 626.
It has been suggested that “insurable relationship” would be a more accurate term, and, therefore, one less calculated to misdirect the inquiry. Harnett and Thornton, Insurance Interest in Property: A socio-economic re-evaluation of a legal concept, 48 Colum L R 1162, 1188 (1948). " ' ’
Of interest is Stauder v. Association General Fire Co. (1957), 105 Ohio App 105 (5 Ohio Ops 2d 396, 151 NE2d 583), holding the father of minor children who is charged with their support and subject to the further order of the court, has an insurable interest in their clothing and in furniture and other household goods, belonging to his former wife, used in their care and custody. In American Indemnity Company v. Southern Missionary College (1953), 195 Tenn 513 (260 SW2d 269, 39 ALR2d 714), the court held that the stockholder of a corporation had an insurable interest in its property. See annotation: Insurable interest of stockholder in corporation’s property, 39 ALR2d 723. See, also, Insurable Interest in Property: An Expanding Concept, 44 Iowa L E 513 (1959). In a considerable number of cases the courts have struggled with the various tests in
See annotation: Insurable interest of husband or wife in other’s property, 68 ALR 362, and 27 ALR2d 1959. In Agricultural Insurance Company of Watertown, New York v. Montague (1878), 38 Mich 548, the court held that a husband does not have an insurable interest in his wife’s property (p 552): “the question arises here precisely as it would had the [insured property owned by the wife] been owned by a stranger.” Later the Court found an insurable interest in the husband where there was a tenancy by the entireties. Clawson v. Citizens’ Mutual Fire Insurance Co. (1899), 121 Mich 591. Under many policies written today the spouse is automatically deemed an insured, and this perhaps explains why the matter has not been recently litigated in Michigan. Indeed, this is the first Michigan ease in over 75 years to declare a poliey of property insurance invalid because the insured did not have an insurable interest. Another explanation may be that insurance companies do not raise the defense. The defendant’s former agent testified that the defendant no longer writes policies in this State.
The Miobigan standard poliey of fire insurance once provided that the entire policy shall be void, unless otherwise agreed in writing, “if the interest of the insured be other than unconditional and sole ownership when loss' or damage occurs.” CL 1929, § 12572. This provision was eliminated by PA 1945, No 265.
In Gordon v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. (1917), 197 Mich 226, 234, a provision eliminating coverage where the property was unoccupied more than 10 days was deemed waived when the company issued the policy with knowledge that the property was then unoccupied.
Reference
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