Phœnix Insurance Co. of Hartford v. Mitchell

Citations

• 67 Ill. 43

Syllabus

<p>1. Insurance—insurable interest—outstanding equity. Where the purchaser of real property has received a deed therefor investing him with the legal title, the fact that he practiced a fraud upon his vendor as to the consideration, on account of which his conveyance was subsequently set aside in equity at the suit of his vendor, will not defeat a recovery on a policy of insurance effected by him on the property before his title was set aside. The conveyance not being void, hut only voidable, the grantee had an insurable interest, and his title was not conditional as to the insurer.</p> <p>3. Same—not affected by fraud on third party. An insurance company can not avoid its contract of insurance by impeaching the mode by which the assured obtained the title to the property insured, or in other words, by setting up a fraud committed upon third parties. If the deed of the assured is void for fraud in its execution, a different consequence would follow.</p> <p>3. Parties at law—action, on insurance policy. Where a party, through fraud in the consideration, obtained the legal title to certain premises, and effected an insurance upon the buildings in his name, and his title was afterwards set aside in equity at the instance of his vendor, it was held, that an action at law on the policy to recover for a loss by fire, pending the litigation, was properly brought in the name of the assured, hut that as between him and his vendor, the insurance money represented the property destroyed.</p>