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Kern Brewing Co. v. Royal Insurance

KERN BREWING CO. v. ROYAL INSURANCE CO.

Kern Brewing Co. v. Royal Ins., 86 N.W. 388 (Mich. 1901)
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Court
Michigan Supreme Court · State Highest Courts
Decided
June 4, 1901
Judges
Grant, Hooker, Long, Montgomery, Moore
Citations
86 N.W. 388127 Mich. 391901 Mich. LEXIS 930
Disposition
Affirmed.
Headnotes
1. Accord and Satisfaction—Loss Under Insurance Policy. Where the amount of plaintiff’s loss by fire had been adjusted with the several insurers, but the extent of defendant’s liability was in dispute, and plaintiff accepted a draft from defendant’s agent for the amount admitted to be due him, and signed a receipt in full for all claims against defendant, plaintiff is concluded from recovering any balance claimed to be due under the policy, 2. Same—Limitation on Agent’s Authority. The fact that, at the time of signing the receipt, plaintiff verbally reserved the right to sue for such balance, will not enable him to maintain his action, where it appears that he knew that defendant had instructed its agent to deliver the draft only on condition that a receipt in full be given.
Summary
Error to St. Clair; Vance, J. Assumpsit by the Kern Brewing Company against the Royal Insurance Company on a fire policy. From a judgment for defendant on verdict directed by the court, plaintiff brings error.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court — Montgomery

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Montgomery, C. J.

Plaintiff signed proofs of loss by a fire, to which a schedule and apportionment were attached fixing defendant’s liability at $1,104.32. Plaintiff claims not to have known of this schedule and apportionment at the time of the signature, and that the policy and the amount of the whole loss show that defendant’s proportion should have been greater. Defendant introduced testimony tending to show that plaintiff signed the proofs *40 of loss with a full understanding of their contents, and admitted that defendant’s policy covered the stock .in but one building, instead of two, as it now claims. Subsequently, with a full understanding of the proofs which it had signed, and on the advice of its attorney, plaintiff accepted a draft for $1,104.33, and signed a receipt in full, said receipt being insisted upon as a condition to the delivery of the draft. Plaintiff claims that it reserved the right to recover against the company any balance.

The plaintiff was informed that the instructions given to the agent were to deliver the draft only on condition of the plaintiff’s signing the receipt. It appears, therefore, that it was fully apprised of the limitations upon the ■agent’s authority, and that it elected to sign the receipt and receive the draft knowing that the condition affixed by the company to the delivery of the draft to it was that it should receipt in full for all claims against the company. It should be held to have accepted the proposition made by the company, and the only question, therefore, is whether, in view of the dispute between the plaintiff and the defendant as to the extent of liability under this policy, the receipt of the amount admittedly due in full payment and discharge of the liability concludes the plaintiff. Upon this question the case is ruled by Tanner v. Merrill, 108 Mich. 58 ( 65 N. W. 664 , 63 Am. St. Rep. 687 , 31 L. R. A. 171). See, also, Golden v. Illuminating Co., 114 Mich. 625 ( 73 N. W. 633 ).

The judgment will be affirmed, with costs.

Hooker, Moore, and Grant, JJ., concurred. Long, J., did not sit.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

Cited by 11 cases

View all citing references →
1901: 11903: 11905: 11925: 11929: 11930: 11932: 11933: 11935: 11943: 11955: 119012026peak 1901 · 1

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Wheeler v. Baker93 N.W. 1069 (Mich. 1903)
  2. Detroit Fire Marine Ins. Co. v. Crayne66 S.W.2d 819 (Ky. Ct. App. 1933)
  3. State ex rel. Johnson v. Judges Court of Appeals107 La. 69 (1901)
  4. Eisenberg v. C. F. Battenfeld Oil Co.232 N.W. 386 (Mich. 1930)
  5. Goldsmith v. Lichtenberg102 N.W. 627 (Mich. 1905)
  6. Empire Industries, Inc. v. Northern Assurance Co.70 N.W.2d 769 (Mich. 1955)

Most recent

  1. Empire Industries, Inc. v. Northern Assurance Co.70 N.W.2d 769 (Mich. 1955)
  2. Lehaney v. New York Life Ins. Co.11 N.W.2d 830 (Mich. 1943)
  3. Holmes v. Bankers Life Co.260 N.W. 747 (Mich. 1935)
  4. Detroit Fire Marine Ins. Co. v. Crayne66 S.W.2d 819 (Ky. Ct. App. 1933)
  5. Long v. &198tna Life Ins. Co.242 N.W. 889 (Mich. 1932)
  6. Eisenberg v. C. F. Battenfeld Oil Co.232 N.W. 386 (Mich. 1930)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 3

DepthCaseCited by
Tanner v. Merrill, 31 L.R.A. 171 (Mich. 1895) 49
Golden v. Bartlett Illuminating Co., 72 N.W. 622 (Mich. 1897) 6
Snell v. Weyerhauser, 73 N.W. 633 (Minn. 1898) 4

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