Williams v. Hartford Ins. Co.

Citations

• 54 Cal. 442

Syllabus

<p>Insurance—Construction of Policy.—A policy of insurance on a building contained the following provision: “ Damage to property not totally destroyed, unless the amount of such damage is agreed upon between the assured and the company, shall be appraised by disinterested and competent persons mutually agreed upon by the parties; when personal property is damaged, * * * the assured shall make an inventory thereof, * * * and upon each article the damage shall be separately appraised, and the detailed report of the appraisers, under oath, shall form a part of the proofs herein required; * * * and until such proof and certificates are produced, * * # the loss shall not be payable.” In an action upon the policy: Held, 1st. That this clause, even if sufficiently definite to be of any validity, (which is doubted) has no application in a case like the present, where the principal dispute is, whether a total or only a partial destruction of the building resulted from the fire; and 2nd. That the provision that the loss shall not be payable until the production of the proof and certificates mentioned, applied only to personal property.</p> <p>Id. — Waiver. — The non-production or insufficiency of the preliminary proofs of loss required by a policy, will be deemed waived by the insurers, if their conduct is such as to render the production or correction useless or unavailing, or, as to induce in the mind of the insured a belief that no proof will be required, or that those already furnished, though in fact defective, are satisfactory, and therefore sufficient.</p> <p>Id.— Evidence — Preliminary Erodes — Insurance. — In an action upon a policy of fire insurance, the preliminary proofs of loss—though not competent evidence of the amount of loss—are admissible in evidence, for the purpose of showing a compliance with the conditions of the policy.</p> <p>Id.—Id.—Instructions.—When testimony offered is admissible for one purpose, but is incompetent for another, it is the duty of th