Wiland v. Royal Insurance
Wiland v. Royal Insurance
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This is an action on an insurance policy. The question for us to decide is whether or not the court below erred in entering judgment against the defendant for want of a sufficient affidavit of defense. The allegations of the plaintiff as to the loss sustained were that “The property and improvements insured were destroyed and damaged by fire, the actual cash value of said property so destroyed and damaged being $2,125.13 and the total damage to said property being $1,606.22.” The defendant answered in this wise: “the defendant is informed, believes and expects to be able to prove at the time of the trial of this case and therefore avers that the actual cash value of the property so damaged did not amount to the sum of $2,125.13, as claimed by the plaintiff, but,
In Penn Plate Glass Co. v. Spring Garden Insurance Co., 189 Pa. 255, the affidavit was very similar as to the averment of loss to the one in question and we quote the following from the opinion of Justice Mitchell in that case, “The affidavit of defense sets up clearly and specifically in the established and approved form that defendant “is informed, believes and expects to be able to prove” that the plaintiff’s loss in respect of equipment was not $228,734.00 as claimed but did not exceed $60,-000.00, and the amount of defendant’s liability, if liable at all, was not $2,099.00 as claimed in the statement but would not exceed $1,035.00. This was sufficient to prevent judgment and put the plaintiff to proof of the amount of its loss.”
Furthermore the plaintiff in his statement, as appears above, sets forth his loss in lump figures. The defendant in his answer does the same. We see no reason why the defendant shall be held to a greater particularity in his affidavit of defense than the plaintiff in his statement.
The judgment is reversed and a procedendo awarded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Wiland v. Royal Insurance Company, Ltd.
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- 1 case
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- Syllabus
- Insurance — Fire insurance — Affidavit of defense. In an action upon a policy of fire insurance where the statement of claim avers that the actual cash value of the property damaged was $2,125.13 and the total damage to said property was $1,606.22, an affidavit of defense is sufficient which avers that the actual cash value of the property damaged did not amount to the sum of $2,125.13 as claimed, and did not exceed the sum of $1,-757.43, and that the total damage to the property did not amount to the sum of $1,606.22, and did not exceed the sum of $769.57.