78 Ind. App. 479 | Ind. Ct. App. | 1923
— In this action appellee recovered a judgment against appellant on an insurance policy by reason of the loss of a rectifier by theft. The cause was tried by the court, which overruled appellant’s motion for a new trial, based on the grounds that its decision is not sustained by sufficient evidence, and is contrary to law. This action of the court constitutes the only error assigned on appeal.
The evidence consists of an agreed statement of facts, by which it appears, among other things, that on February 1, 1918, appellant entered into a contract of insurance with appellee, by which the former insured the latter for a period of one year, to an amount not exceeding $800, against loss “upon the body, machinery and equipment” of her electric automobile, occasioned by fire, lightning, theft, robbery or pilferage; that appellee kept her said automobile, the list price of which was $2,550, in a public garage in the city of Indianapolis; that appellee owned a certain rectifier, consisting of a slate switch board eighteen by thirty inches, and two and one-half inches thick, which was supported on an
Appellant contends that the trial court erred in holding that the rectifier described above was covered by the policy in suit. This contention presents the only question for our determination. The only evidence submitted on the trial was an agreed statement of facts, but notwithstanding its form we must sustain the decision on which the judgment is based, if such facts, or any inference reasonably deducible therefrom, tend fairly to support the same. West v. Graff (1899), 23 Ind. App. 410, 55 N. E. 506;
The policy in suit is of considerable length, and was evidently prepared by appellant with much care, as it contains many provisions for its protection. While courts, in construing such contracts, must endeavor to give effect to the real intent of the parties, as appellant contends, they will adopt that construction which is most favorable to the insured, where the contract is so drawn as to be ambiguous, or to require interpretation, or is fairly susceptible to two different constructions, so that reasonably intelligent men, on reading the same, would honestly differ as to its meaning. Aetna Ins. Co. v. Strout (1896), 16 Ind. App. 160, 44 N. E. 934; Farmers’ Mutual v. Reser (1908), 43 Ind. App. 634, 88 N. E. 349; Commercial Union, etc., Co. v. Schumacher (1919), 71 Ind. App. 526, 119 N. E. 532; Hessler, Admr., v. Federal Casualty Co. (1921), 190 Ind. 68, 129 N. E. 325. The reason for this rule is based on the fact, that insurance contracts are usually prepared by the insurer, who seeks to so frame them as to limit their scope, and hence it is only fair that any doubt as to the meaning of the language used should be resolved in favor of the insured, in order to avoid the injustice that would often result from a narrow and technical interpretation. Federal Life Ins. Co. v. Kerr (1909), 173 Ind. 613, 89 N. E. 398, 91 N. E. 230; Globe, etc., Ins. Co. v. Hamilton (1917), 65 Ind. App. 541, 116 N. E. 597; Maxwell v. Springfield, etc., Ins. Co. (1920), 73 Ind. App. 251, 125 N. E. 645.
With this rule in mind we have examined the policy in suit and find that it provides for insurance against loss by theft “upon the body, machinery and equipment of the automobile.” Had it merely provided for insurance against loss by theft of the automobile, or any of its parts, it would only be nec
After an extended search, we have not been able to find that the meaning of the term “equipment,” when used in connection with an automobile, has ever been defined by any court, or that any rule has been established by which it may be determined when an appliance, used in connection therewith, falls within the meaning of such term. Under these circumstances we very naturally turn to the definitions found in the dictionaries, in determining the commonly accepted meaning of such term, as a basis for its application in the instant case. Webster’s International Dictionary defines the verb “equip” to mean, “To furnish for service, or against a need or exigency; to fit out; to supply with whatever is necessary to efficient action in any way;” and the noun “equipment” to mean, “Whatever is used in equipping * * * the collective designation for the articles comprising ah outfit.” In the Century Dictionary the verb “equip” is defined as meaning, “To fit
Appellant, in an effort to lead the court to a different conclusion, has cited the following facts: That the rectifier was not attached to the automobile at the time it was stolen; that it was never carried with or in the same; that there was no place in or on said automobile
As bearing on the intention of the parties to the policy in suit, the trial court may have believed that appellant knew, as a matter of common knowledge, that an electric automobile cannot be operated without being charged with electricity, and that many owners of such automobiles had or might have appliances for that purpose, and may have given weight to the fact that with such knowledge, appellant considered the equipment which it 'did not desire that the policy should cover, and only eliminated therefrom “robes, wearing apparel, personal effects, extra bodies, * * tools and repair equipment,” as therein specifically enumerated. That such was the intention of appellant, is a reasonable inference from the facts stated, since the policy was evidently prepared by it, and we must give effect to such inference on appeal. We conclude the court did not err in overruling appellant’s motion for a new trial, and the judgment is therefore affirmed.