Indemnity Co. of America v. Mahaffey
Indemnity Co. of America v. Mahaffey
Opinion of the Court
The bank appeared and answered, but the indemnity company made no appearance, whereupon Mahaffey dismissed the bank from the action, and took a default judgment against the indemnity company for the amount of the policy, and the company brings that judgment here by writ of error.
The petition of the plaintiff below discloses : That at the time the indemnity policy was issued the car did not belong to Mahaf-fey, but was the property of a third party; that the policy was not issued to Mahaffey, but to a third party; that after the policy *862 had been in force about eight months Mahaf-fey bought the car, which was stolen from him four days later; that at. the time MahafCey purchased the car the indemnity policy, was in the possession of the Port Worth bank, and that MahafCey instructed the bank to have the policy transferred to him; but that plaintifC cannot allege that the policy was ever so transferred to him.
The petition, in our opinion, was subject to a general demurrer so far as the indemnity company wap con)cerned, and accordingly will not support a judgment by default against that company. If the indemnity company was liable to MahafCey, it could have been so only by reason of the insurance contract or policy. That contract was made originally with a third party, a stranger to this litigation. It was not m'ade with Mahaf-fey. He was not a party, but was a stranger to it. It was never transferred or assigned to him, so far as the petition shows, and no contract or privity of contract between the company and himself was alleged, and accordingly no case was made by his petition.
The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.
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Reference
- Full Case Name
- Indemnity Co. of America v. Mahaffey.
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- Published