Waldron v. Home Mutual Insurance

Citations

• 16 Wash. 193
• 47 P. 425
• 1896 Wash. LEXIS 33

Syllabus

<p>FIRE INSURANCE — ORAL CONTRACT — LIABILITY OF COMPANY—BURDEN OF PROOF — WEIGHT OF TESTIMONY.</p> <p>Where there is an oral contract entered into for insurance, all the essentials having been agreed upon, and loss occurs before the policy is actually issued or delivered, the contract is binding upon the insurance company in accordance with the terms of the agreement, just as though the policy had been issued.</p> <p>The plaintiff in an action against an insurance company on an oral contract of insurance is not required to prove by clear and conclusive proof that such contract was made, but, so far as the weight of testimony is concerned, stands in the same position as any litigant having the burden of proof in matters where the question of proof is submitted to a jury.</p> <p>The fact that the testimony of a witness is in the form of a deposition, or of an admission, for the purpose of avoiding a continuance, that the witness, if present, would swear to a certain state of facts, will not give it greater weight than the testimony of a witness present in person, but the jury have a right to weigh it as they do any other testimony in the case.</p>