Dornblaser v. Sugar Valley Mutual Fire Insurance
Dornblaser v. Sugar Valley Mutual Fire Insurance
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This case as presented to us by the appellant’s counsel, turns
Peter Dornblaser died in 1897, having made a will whereby he devised one fifth of all his property to his daughter Puella, this appellant, one fifth to each of his three other children and one fifth to the children of a deceased daughter.
Subsequently upon proceedings in partition in the orphans’ court, the whole real estate of the testator, including the insured buildings, was allotted to the appellant, upon her bid, who, pursuant to the decree of the court, duly entered into recognizance to pay the other parties in interest their proportionate shares. This was followed by a distribution made by an auditor of the money secured by the recognizance and also of the personal estate in the hands of the executors, which was duly confirmed. These proceedings, are fully recited in the opinion filed by the learned president judge of the court below, and, therefore, need not be recited at greater length by us. He was clearly right in holding that when she entered into this recognizance, the full legal title to the real estate upon which the insured building was situated became vested in her: Robisson v. Miller, 158 Pa. 177.
It is unnecessary to discuss the question whether the change of title caused by the death and will of Peter Dornblaser was such as was contemplated by the condition of the policy above quoted. For present purposes it may be conceded that it was not, but it must also be conceded that, if his rights under the policy passed to his devisees, they took subject to the same conditions which bound him. Viewing tire case in the most
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Dornblaser v. Sugar Valley Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Clinton County
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Insurance — Fire insurance — Alienation of title — Cotenants. Where a policy of fire insurance provides that the policy shall become void if the title to the property is sold, transferred or changed, a purchase of the property by one of the devisees of the insured in partition proceedings is such a change of title as will avoid the policy. A policy of fire insurance was issued wherein it was recited that the insured “ obligated himself, his heirs, executors and administrators to pay all such ” assessments as might be made by the board of directors, and whereby the company promised and agreed “ to make good unto the said insured, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns all such loss or damage not exceeding the sum insured,” as should happen by fire to the property insured between the date of the policy and the date when the policy should be annulled, and w.hich provided that “if the title to the hereby insured property be sold, transferred or changed, or if said property be levied upon or taken into possession or custody under any legal .proceeding, this policy shall forthwith cease and become void.” The bylaws provided that “ the sale of property insured by this company cancels the policy, and the purchaser must make application anew, if he desires insurance.” After the death of the insured one of his devisees purchased the whole properly insured at a sale in partition proceedings. Subsequently the property was destroyed by fire. Held, that there was sueh a change of title as to avoid the policy.