129 Ark. 309 | Ark. | 1917
This is an action to recover on a fire insurance policy issued by appellant to Mrs. Jennie Arndt, one of the appellees, insuring a house in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, owned by Mrs. Arndt, which was destroyed by fire April 8, 1916. Mrs. Arndt conveyed the lot on which the building had been situated to C. C. Mc-Spadden by deed duly executed and delivered April 11, 1916, which was three days after the fire occurred, and both of the parties to the conveyance joined as plaintiffs in this action, alleging in the complaint that, as a part of the consideration for the conveyance, Mrs. Arndt agreed that McSpadden should receive the amount to be collected from the insurance company under the policy.
The only defense set forth in the answer which is insisted on here is that Mrs. Arndt had sold the property to McSpadden, and delivered possession thereof, without the consent of the company, prior to the date of the fire, and was not “the sole and unconditional owner” within the meaning of, one of the conditions expressed on the face of the policy. It is .undisputed that Mrs. Arndt entered into negotiations with McSpadden in the latter part of March, 1916, for the sale of the property, and that they entered into an oral agreement for the sale thereof at a stipulated price. Mrs. Arndt resided in St. Louis, and negotiations on her behalf were conducted by her husband as her agent, and on the return of her husband to St. Louis, immediately after the oral trade was entered into, a deed was prepared reciting a cash consideration of $1,000, and Mrs. Arndt executed the same and forwarded it to a bank at Walnut Eidge with a draft attached for the amount of the purchase price of the property. On receipt of the deed, the cashier of the bank notified McSpadden of the receipt of the deed and draft. That was just a few hours before the fire occurred, and the bank had closed the day’s business. There was no delivery of the deed by the bank to Mc-Spadden nor was the draft paid, and, after the house was totally destroyed by fire, McSpadden communicated with Mr. Arndt and proposed to accept the conveyance of the property if he would withdraw the former deed from the bank and execute another, and if Mrs. Arndt would agree to let him (McSpadden) have the money to be collected on the insurance. Mrs. Arndt agreed to those terms, and recalled the deed, and executed another deed dated April 11, 1916, as before stated, and delivered the same to McSpadden, who paid the purchase price.
The court submitted the question to the jury whether o.r not there had been a delivery of possession of the property before the destruction of the house by fire, and there being testimony to support the verdict on that issue, the finding of the jury should not be disturbed. It is not urged that the instructions given by the court on that point are objectionable.
Judgment affirmed.