Bartow v. Northern Assur. Co.

Citations

• 10 S.D. 132
• 72 N.W. 86
• 1897 S.D. LEXIS 24

Syllabus

<p>1. In an action on an insurance policy, it was alleged that plaintiff was the owner of the property destroyed, at the time of the fire, to which allegation defendant interposed a denial of knowledge of information sufficient to form a belief. Held, that such denial was sufficient to raise the question of such ownership, where defendant was a foreign corporation, and not presumed to know who was the owner of such property at the time of such loss, nor required to ascertain such fact before pleading to the complaint.</p> <p>2. Where there was no general verdict in an action on an insurance policy, a special verdict finding that no gasoline had been kept on the premises in question, and also the amount of damage to the property covered by the policy, was insufficient to sustain a judgment for plaintiff, in the absence of such findings on issues, raised by the pleadings, as to the ownership of the property at the time of the fire; as to whether more than 60 days had elapsed, after the proofs were made and notice given, before . the action was brought; and as to whether the taking of other insurance before and after the issuance of defendant’s policy, had been waived— though all such issues were proven by uncontradicted evidence.</p>