Bowyer v. Thomas
Annotate this Case
September 1992 Term
_________
NO. 20730
_________
WILLIAM ROBERT BOWYER,
BY HIS NEXT FRIEND, IDA BOWYER;
AND IDA BOWYER,
Plaintiffs Below, Appellants
V.
DAVID THOMAS; MCDONOUGH CAPERTON
SHEPHERD GROUP, INC.; AND THE
AETNA CASUALTY & SURETY COMPANY,
Defendants Below
AETNA CASUALTY & SURETY COMPANY,
Appellee
__________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Fayette County
Honorable J. Zane Summerfield, Judge
Civil Action No. 82-C-328
REVERSED AND REMANDED
WITH DIRECTIONS
____________________________________________________________
Submitted: September 16, 1992
Filed: November 13, 1992
Ralph C. Young
Hamilton, Burgess, Young, Tissue
& Pollard
Oak Hill, West Virginia
Attorney for the Appellants
R. Ford Francis
Jay W. Craig
Shuman, Annand & Poe
Charleston, West Virginia
Attorney for Appellee
JUSTICE MILLER delivered the Opinion of the Court.
SYLLABUS BY THE COURT
1. Before an insurance policy will be voided because of
the insured's failure to cooperate, such failure must be
substantial and of such nature as to prejudice the insurer's
rights.
2. In addition to prejudice, the insurer must show that
its insured willfully and intentionally violated the cooperation
clause of the insurance policy before it can deny coverage.
3. The insurer must exercise reasonable diligence in
obtaining the insured's cooperation, including attendance at trial,
before the policy will be voided.
4. The insurer has the burden of proof on its claim
that the insured failed to cooperate.
5. "'When, upon the trial of a case, the evidence decidedly preponderates against the verdict of a jury or the finding of a trial court upon the evidence, this Court will, upon review, reverse the judgment; and, if the case was tried by the court in lieu of a jury, this Court will make such finding and render such judgment on the evidence as the trial court should have made and rendered.' Syllabus Point 9, Bluefield Supply Co. v. Frankel's Appliances, Inc., 149 W. Va. 622, 142 S.E.2d 898 (1965)."
Syllabus Point 5, Estate of Bayliss v. Lee, 173 W. Va. 299, 315 S.E.2d 406 (1984).
Miller, Justice:
In this appeal of a declaratory judgment action, we
consider the scope of an insured's duty to cooperate with his
insurer under an automobile liability policy. In the instant case,
we find that the insurer failed to prove that its insured did not
cooperate as required by the terms of his insurance policy.
I.
On August 13, 1981, the insured, David Thomas, and
William Bowyer, age 15, were involved in a single car accident near
Oak Hill in Fayette County, West Virginia. The insured was only
slightly injured, but William Bowyer's injuries were extensive.
Mr. Thomas was insured under an automobile liability policy issued
by Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. (Aetna).
In April of 1982, Ida Bowyer, the mother and next friend
of William Bowyer, filed suit against Mr. Thomas in the Circuit
Court of Fayette County. Aetna retained a local attorney to
represent its insured, Mr. Thomas. Before answering the complaint,
the attorney attempted to contact Mr. Thomas by telephone, but was
unable to reach him. Nonetheless, an answer was filed on Mr.
Thomas's behalf in order to avoid a default judgment.
Thereafter, Mr. Thomas made several appointments to meet with the attorney, but did not do so until the end of June, 1982.
After relating the circumstances surrounding the automobile
accident, Mr. Thomas explained that it would be difficult to reach
him because his job required him to be on the road constantly. He
did give the attorney his mother's address in Oak Hill and
indicated that his mother would know how to get in touch with him.
In the months that followed, Mr. Thomas would occasionally call the
attorney, but did not provide him with a permanent address.
Although there is no notice of deposition in the record or correspondence verifying the insurer's allegations, Aetna claims it had arranged to depose Mr. Thomas on August 17, 1982. When Mr. Thomas failed to appear at the scheduled deposition, Aetna's claim representative, Ralph Schrader, sent a letter, dated August 23, 1982, to Mr. Thomas at his mother's residence in Oak Hill. The letter stated that Mr. Thomas "failed to appear in Fayetteville, West Virginia on August 17, 1982 for the taking of [his] discovery deposition[.]" After citing language from the insurance policy which requires every person seeking coverage to cooperate with the insurer,See footnote 1 Mr. Schrader's letter warned that if Mr. Thomas failed
to cooperate in the future, Aetna would "conduct any investigation
or activity in connection with the case under a full reservation of
the Company's rights." The letter did not inform Mr. Thomas that
his failure to cooperate might relieve Aetna of its duty to defend
the lawsuit.See footnote 2
Subsequently, Mr. Thomas contacted Mr. Schrader and
advised him that he had moved to California, but still did not have
a permanent address. During the next several months, Mr. Thomas
called Mr. Schrader on several occasions and seemed willing to
assist Aetna in preparing his defense. Moreover, although Mr.
Thomas agreed to be deposed in California, a deposition was never
scheduled.
On December 21, 1982, Mr. Schrader wrote Mr. Thomas
again. As in his first correspondence, Mr. Schrader noted that Mr.
Thomas "failed to appear in Fayetteville, WV on August 19, 1982
[sic] for the taking of [his] discovery deposition[.]" He
reiterated that Mr. Thomas had a duty to cooperate with Aetna and
once again advised him that further uncooperation would result in
the company continuing to investigate the loss "under a full
reservation of the Company's rights." This letter did not warn Mr.
Thomas that his failure to cooperate would result in a loss of
coverage under the policy.See footnote 3
On January 24, 1983, Ida Bowyer's attorney, Ralph Young,
took the deposition of David Thomas's mother, Lucy Thomas. She
testified that her son left West Virginia in August, 1982, to look
for work in California. Since August, she had heard from him on
several occasions, and he had given her an address where he could
be reached. Mrs. Thomas provided the address to all the attorneys
present at the deposition.
Aetna's attempts to contact Mr. Thomas in California are
found in an affidavit submitted to the circuit court by Mr.
Schrader. In the affidavit, Mr. Schrader generally asserted that
he made several attempts to contact Mr. Thomas to no avail.See footnote 4 The
only date Mr. Schrader identified specifically was May 23, 1983,
when Mr. Thomas called him inquiring about the status of the
lawsuit. During this telephone conversation, Mr. Schrader informed
Mr. Thomas that Aetna was denying coverage because Mr. Thomas had
failed to cooperate.See footnote 5 That same day, Mr. Schrader wrote to the
plaintiff's attorney and informed him that Aetna was "declining
coverage to David Thomas for his failure to cooperate."
Thereafter, Ida Bowyer filed a separate declaratory
judgment action in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County against
Aetna seeking a declaration of coverage up to the policy limits.See footnote 6
W. Va. Code, 55-13-1. The declaratory judgment action was
transferred to the Circuit Court of Fayette County and ordered
consolidated with the underlying personal injury action.
Subsequently, Aetna filed a motion for summary judgment,
arguing that because Mr. Thomas failed to cooperate, as required
under the terms of the insurance policy, Aetna was absolved of its
duty to defend or pay in this action. An evidentiary hearing was
held on December 17, 1986. Aetna presented the testimony of the
attorney it assigned to represent Mr. Thomas and of Mr. Schrader
and submitted into evidence the August 23, and December 21, 1982
letters.
In an order dated June 25, 1991, the Circuit Court of
Fayette County found that Aetna had made a good faith effort to
secure the cooperation of its insured and that the insured had
failed to cooperate as required by the insurance policy.
Accordingly, the court ruled that Aetna was relieved of any
liability under the policy in excess of the $20,000 mandated by the
Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Law, W. Va. Code, 17D-1-1, et
seq. The plaintiff appeals.See footnote 7
II.
We have not had occasion to give any extended
consideration to the scope of the insured's duty to cooperate under
an automobile liability policy. In Marcum v. State Automobile
Mutual Insurance Co., 134 W. Va. 144, 59 S.E.2d 433 (1950), we
dealt with this issue briefly. In Marcum, the insured, a Kentucky
resident, was involved in an automobile accident in West Virginia.
Several pedestrians were injured, and at least one person was
killed. One of the injured individuals sued the insured. The
lawyer retained by the insurance company to defend the insured
advised him to stay out of West Virginia in order to avoid service
of process. Nonetheless, the insured did return to West Virginia
and was served. Following a jury trial, a judgment was rendered
against the insured. Although the insurance company defended the
insured in the personal injury action, it did so under a
reservation of rights letter and later refused to pay the judgment.
Subsequently, the plaintiff filed suit against the
insurance company. In response, the insurance company claimed that
the insured violated the cooperation clause in his insurance policy
when he failed to heed the advice of the attorney retained to
represent him. We disagreed and pointed out that suit could have
been commenced against the insured by substitute service of process
even if the insured never returned to West Virginia.See footnote 8 We
concluded: "The well considered cases are almost unanimous in
holding that a breach of the 'co-operation clause', to constitute
a basis of discharge of the insurer from liability, must be
substantial and of such nature as to prejudice the insurer's
rights." 134 W. Va. at 150, 59 S.E.2d at 436.
Marcum follows the general rule elsewhere that before an
insurance policy will be voided because of the insured's failure to
cooperate, such failure must be substantial and of such nature as
to prejudice the insurer's rights.See footnote 9 In addition to prejudice, the
insurer must show that its insured willfully and intentionally
violated the cooperation clause of the insurance policy before it
can deny coverage.See footnote 10 Moreover, the insurer must also exercise
reasonable diligence in obtaining the insured's cooperation,
including attendance at trial, before the policy will be voided.See footnote 11
Finally, the insurer has the burden of proof on its claim that the
insured failed to cooperate.See footnote 12 See generally 8 J. Appleman & J.
Appleman, Insurance Law & Practice §§ 4771-4776 (3d ed. 1980); 44
Am. Jur. 2d Insurance §§ 1430-1440 (1982); Annot., 9 A.L.R.4th 218
(1981).
Automobile liability insurance is chiefly designed for
the benefit of third parties injured by a negligent driver. From
a practical standpoint, allowing an insurance company to easily
deny coverage to an insured because of insubstantial failures to
cooperate would unduly expose innocent injured members of the
public to financial ruin and provide an unjustifiable windfall to
the prejudiced insurer. Thus, in the words of the Washington
Supreme Court in Oregon Automobile Insurance Co. v. Salzberg, 85 Wash. 2d 372, 376-77, 535 P.2d 816, 819 (1975), the goal of
liability insurance is to extend "the maximum protection possible
consonant with fairness to the insurer." (Citation omitted). See
also Darcy v. Hartford Ins. Co., 407 Mass. 481, 554 N.E.2d 28
(1990).
III.
With these rules in mind, we review the facts of this
case. First, there is insufficient evidence that Mr. Thomas
intentionally failed to cooperate with Aetna. The insurance
carrier had several contacts with Mr. Thomas, who, while canceling
several appointments, did appear in the defense attorney's office
in June of 1982. During that interview, Mr. Thomas advised the
attorney that he was working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was
frequently on the road, but gave his mother's address in Oak Hill,
West Virginia, as a place to contact him. Moreover, both the
defense attorney and the claims adjuster for Aetna testified that
Mr. Thomas contacted them on several occasions and expressed a
desire to assist Aetna in his defense.
Nonetheless, Aetna claims that it had a right to deny
coverage because of Mr. Thomas's alleged failure to appear at his
scheduled deposition on August 17, 1982. While the insurer asserts
that it notified Mr. Thomas of the deposition by mail, there is no
evidence in the record substantiating this allegation. The record
does not contain a copy of the letter sent to Mr. Thomas or any
written formal notice to counsel verifying the scheduled
deposition.
Likewise, the insurer's proof falls woefully short of
demonstrating that it exercised due diligence in maintaining
contact with the insured. Aetna argues that it did diligently
attempt to secure Mr. Thomas's cooperation as demonstrated by the
fact that it sent him the August 23, 1982, and December 21, 1982
letters pointing out that he had failed to appear for his
deposition, which violated his duty to cooperate. In neither
letter did the claims adjuster clearly and unequivocally state that
Mr. Thomas's continued failure to cooperate would result in the
loss of insurance coverage for the automobile accident.
After the December, 1982 letter, plaintiff's counsel took
the deposition of Mr. Thomas's mother, who was able to give a
permanent address where Mr. Thomas could be reached. She explained
that in August of 1982, Mr. Thomas left Pittsburgh and found work
in California. In his affidavit, Aetna's insurance adjuster
admitted that he had been in contact with Mr. Thomas after he moved
to California, and on May 23, 1983, Mr. Thomas had telephoned him
inquiring about the lawsuit. During this conversation, the
adjuster advised Mr. Thomas that Aetna was denying him coverage
based on his failure to cooperate.
On this same day, Mr. Schrader wrote plaintiffs'
attorney explaining that Aetna was denying coverage to Mr. Thomas
because of his failure to cooperate. The adjuster's affidavit
further states that on August 8, 1983, he sent a certified letter
denying coverage to Mr. Thomas's last known address and that the
letter was accepted on his behalf. Neither this letter nor the
return receipt was introduced into the record. Finally, the insurer
apparently never attempted to make personal contact with the
insured through its California offices.
Other jurisdictions confronted with much more egregious
facts have had little difficulty in rejecting denial of coverage
claims by insurers under cooperation clauses because the insurer
did not exercise reasonable diligence in attempting to contact the
insured. For example, in American Guarantee & Liability Insurance
Co. v. Chandler Manufacturing Co., 467 N.W.2d 226 (Iowa 1991), the
defendant, Chandler Manufacturing Company, was sued for allegedly
manufacturing a defective battery charger. While the attorneys
retained by the insurance company to represent the defendant were
able to secure some contact with George Chandler, the company's
president, he failed to answer numerous letters sent to him by the
defense lawyers. The president did provide the defense lawyers
with oral answers to interrogatories, but when the answers were
typed and sent to him for his signature, the president failed to
return them. Two weeks before trial, the defense lawyers sent the
president a hand-delivered letter notifying him of the trial date
and urging him to cooperate. He did not respond to the letter and
did not appear at trial.
After an adverse judgment was rendered against the
defendant, the insurer refused to pay the judgment alleging that
Chandler Manufacturing breached the cooperation clause of the
policy. The trial court rejected this contention. The Iowa
Supreme Court affirmed because the insurer failed to exercise
reasonable diligence in obtaining the president's cooperation:
"American's claims office in Kansas City
merely corresponded with George Chandler
concerning the lawsuit. American suggested
that George cooperate with its lawyer in Ft.
Dodge, Iowa, even though it knew that George
was a resident of Evanston, Illinois. It did
not utilize its claims office and personnel in
an area near Evanston to personally contact
George. After a careful review of American's
correspondence and its actions and inferences
therefrom, we find that American was more
concerned with making a paper trail to
document George's noncooperation than in
securing his cooperation in defending the
lawsuit. Although George Chandler was
accessible, American never took his personal
statement, his deposition, or attempted to
secure his presence at trial." 467 N.W.2d at
230.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in DiMarzo v.
American Mutual Insurance Co., 389 Mass. 85, 449 N.E.2d 1189
(1983), dealt with even more severe facts. There, the defense
attorney sent several letters to the insured. The first letter,
sent by certified mail, requested the insured to appear for a
deposition. The return receipt was signed by someone other than
the insured, and the insured did not appear at the deposition. Two
weeks later, a second letter was sent to the insured and was
returned unclaimed. A third letter, advising the insured of the
trial date, was also returned unclaimed. The court, in rejecting
the insurance company's contention that it no longer had a duty to
defend because the insured had failed to cooperate, stated:
"Our decisions place the insurer under a duty
to take affirmative steps to secure the
cooperation of a vanished policyholder. Allen
v. Atlantic Nat'l Ins. Co., [350 Mass. 181,
214 N.E.2d 28 (1966)]. See Imperiali v. Pica,
338 Mass. 494, 498-499, 156 N.E.2d 44 (1959).
American Mutual's efforts primarily consisted
of repeated attempts to locate MacDonald at an
address where he obviously no longer resided.16
These efforts were not sufficient to discharge
its duty. Contrast Airway Underwriters v.
Perry, 362 Mass. 164, 284 N.E.2d 604 (1972).
16After MacDonald did not appear at his
deposition in 1972, American Mutual hired an
investigator who located MacDonald at the
Plymouth house of correction. It therefore
had affirmative knowledge that MacDonald did
not reside at the Warren Avenue address. It
appears that he did not receive notice of the
deposition because of his incarceration.
"Having successfully located
MacDonald once through the use of an
investigator, American Mutual might have been
expected to hire an investigator again if it
felt it needed MacDonald. DiMarzo's success
in locating MacDonald by hiring an
investigator suggests that MacDonald could
have been located by American Mutual as well."
389 Mass. at ___, 449 N.E.2d at 1199.
The Court of Appeals of New York in Thrasher v. United
States Liability Insurance Co., 19 N.Y.2d 159, ___, 278 N.Y.S.2d 793, 801, 225 N.E.2d 503, 508-09 (1967), also found that the
insurer had failed to make reasonable efforts to locate the
insured:
"Furthermore, once the investigator
learned that Kelley no longer resided at the
Teller Avenue address, his efforts to learn of
his whereabouts were feeble indeed. He called
Kelley's employer on the phone, but he did not
visit him or attempt to talk to any of
Kelley's fellow employees. The investigator
solicited Morgan's and his attorney's aid in
locating Kelley, but they were under no
obligation to assist him. The Motor Vehicle
Department was visited, but no written request
for Kelley's address was ever submitted.
Neighborhood bars were checked, but no checks
were made at neighborhood stores or cleaning
establishments, etc. No check was made at the
Board of Elections and no credit reports were
sought from the available credit agencies.
Letters were sent to Kelley one day before the
trial commenced, and attempts were made to
serve a subpoena once the trial began. It is
significant, however, that, after the
subpoenas were returned indicating that
Kelley's correct address had finally been
ascertained, no further attempts were made to
locate Kelley.
"Finally, we find that the evidence
does not support the conclusion that Kelley
willfully obstructed the defendant's efforts
to defend the action. Kelley cannot be
accused of willful obstruction unless he knew
that the defendant wanted him to testify at
the trial. The evidence presented by the
insurance company to support their contention
that Kelley knew the investigator was looking
for him is equivocal, at best, and does not
discharge the defendant's burden of proving
that Kelley's attitude was one of 'willful and
avowed obstruction'."
In this case, the original personal injury suit was filed
in April of 1982, and, thirteen months later, the insurer denied
coverage. During this time, Aetna's efforts to contact Mr. Thomas
were minimal at best. Accordingly, we find that there is
insufficient evidence that Aetna exercised due diligence in
securing Mr. Thomas's cooperation.
Finally, the insurer has presented no evidence that it
was substantially prejudiced by Mr. Thomas's alleged uncooperation.
In all the foregoing cases, the insurer had a judgment rendered
against its insured and was asserting that the insured's failure to
cooperate had prejudiced the company's ability to defend the
lawsuit. Here, there has been no judgment rendered in the personal
injury action against David Thomas, and, therefore, it is difficult
to discern how the insurer has been substantially prejudiced. On
the record before us, it is clear that the insurer failed to
establish any right to declare the policy void because of the
insured's failure to cooperate.See footnote 13
IV.
We have in the past held that where the evidence
preponderates against the judgment entered by a trial court sitting
without a jury, we will direct that a correct judgment be entered
below. This rule is set out in Syllabus Point 5 of Estate of
Bayliss v. Lee, 173 W. Va. 299, 315 S.E.2d 406 (1984):
"'When, upon the trial of a case,
the evidence decidedly preponderates against
the verdict of a jury or the finding of a
trial court upon the evidence, this Court
will, upon review, reverse the judgment; and,
if the case was tried by the court in lieu of
a jury, this Court will make such finding and
render such judgment on the evidence as the
trial court should have made and rendered.'
Syllabus Point 9, Bluefield Supply Co. v.
Frankel's Appliances, Inc., 149 W. Va. 622,
142 S.E.2d 898 (1965)."
V.
For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the final order of
the Circuit Court of Fayette County. Moreover, because the insurer
failed to prove the necessary elements to entitle it to void its
insurance policy, the circuit court is directed to enter an order
granting judgment in favor of the plaintiff and finding that the
involved automobile insurance policy is not void.See footnote 14
Reversed and remanded
with directions.
Footnote: 1The policy states:
"We must be notified promptly of how, when
and where the accident or loss happened.
Notice should also include the names and
addresses of any injured persons and of any
witnesses.
"A person seeking any coverage must:
1. Cooperate with us in the investigation,
settlement or defense of any claim or suit.
2. Promptly send us copies of any notices
or legal papers received in connection with
the accident or loss.
3. Submit, at our expense and as often as
we reasonably require, to physical
examinations by physicians we select.
4. Authorize us to obtain medical reports
and other pertinent records.
5. Submit a proof of loss when required by
us." (Emphasis added).
There is no language in the policy that explicitly advises the
insured that the failure to cooperate will result in the
insurer's right to deny coverage.
Footnote: 2The text of the August 23, 1982, letter states:
"It has been called to our attention that you
failed to appear in Fayetteville, West
Virginia on August 17, 1982 for the taking of
your discovery deposition on the above
captioned law suit.
"We refer you to the condition under your
Personal Auto Policy 29 SX 13777772 PCA, Page
6 Part E 'Duties after an accident or loss':
'A person seeking any coverage
must:
1. Cooperate with us in the
investigation, settlement or
defense of any claim or suit.'
"If we do not receive your cooperation, then
we will conduct any investigation or activity
in connection with the case under a full
reservation of the Company's rights. Such
investigation or activity does not prejudiced
[sic] our right to disclaim coverage at a
later date."
Footnote: 3The text of the December 21, 1982 letter is:
"We call the following to your attention.
"1. You failed to appear in Fayetteville, WV
on August 19, 1982 for the taking of
your discovery deposition on the above
captioned lawsuit.
"We refer you to the conditions under your
Personal Auto Policy 29 SX 13777772 PCA, Page
6, Part E 'Duties after an accident or loss':
"'A person seeking any coverage
must:
"1. Cooperate with us in the
investigation, settlement or
defense of any claim or suit.'
"2. According to the State Police
investigation, William E. Bowyer was
driving your car at the time of this
accident and you inform us that he did
not have your permission to do so. We
point out on page 2 of your Personal
Auto Policy under Exclusion 'We do not
provide Liability Coverage:
No. 11 for any person using a vehicle
without a reasonable belief that the
person is entitled to do so.'
"If we do not receive your cooperation and
should it be found that William Bowyer was
operating your automobile without your
permission, we will still conduct any
investigation or activity in connection with
the case under a full reservation of the
Company's rights. Such investigation or
activity does not prejudiced [sic] our right
to disclaim coverage at a later date."
Footnote: 4Paragraph 4 of Mr. Schrader's affidavit gives this
information:
"That repeated efforts had to be
made on the part of the affiant to initially
obtain a statement from David Thomas, and
that the insured/defendant, Thomas, moved to
California soon after the lawsuit was filed
against him. On August 17, 1982, which was
before the insured/defendant, Thomas, moved
from the jurisdiction of the lawsuit, his
deposition was scheduled, and Thomas was
notified by phone and by mail of the time of
the taking of his deposition, yet he failed
to make an appearance at this deposition.
The affiant thereafter made repeated efforts
to contact Thomas at various new addresses in
California, in an attempt to try and
reschedule his deposition in California, and
to generally obtain his further assistance in
defending this action. The affiant also
wrote to and spoke orally with Thomas'
mother, stressing the importance of Thomas
cooperating with Aetna. Although on several
occasions the affiant received phone calls
from Thomas, Thomas would never give the
affiant a phone number or a permanent address
where he could be reached, and would instead
say only that he would call back in the
future with this information. However, this
information was never forthcoming."
Footnote: 5In Paragraph 5 of Mr. Schrader's affidavit, he states:
"That on May 23, 1983, the
insured/defendant, Thomas, called the affiant
to inquire about the lawsuit, and stated once
again that he did not have a phone number or
permanent address at that time, and once
again said that he would call back with this
information in the near future. Thomas also
refused to give out the name of the company
he was working for at that time. During this
phone call, the affiant told Thomas that
Aetna was denying coverage to him based on
his failure to cooperate."
Footnote: 6We approved of this procedure in Syllabus Point 3 of
Christian v. Sizemore, 181 W. Va. 628, 383 S.E.2d 810 (1989),
where we held: "An injured plaintiff may bring a declaratory
judgment action against the defendant's insurance carrier to
determine if there is policy coverage before obtaining a judgment
against the defendant in the personal injury action where the
defendant's insurer has denied coverage."
Footnote: 7The underlying personal injury action is still pending in
the Circuit Court of Fayette County.
Footnote: 8See W. Va. Code, 56-3-31 (1990), which is similar to the
statute we referred to in Marcum. See 1937 W. Va. Acts ch. 47.
Footnote: 9The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in Darcy v.
Hartford Insurance Co., 407 Mass. 481, ___, 554 N.E.2d 28, 33
(1990), stated: "[A]ctual prejudice to an insurer's interests
due to lack of an insured's cooperation must be demonstrated
before a denial of coverage will be permitted[.]" (Footnote
omitted). See, e.g., The Home Indem. Co. v. Reco Equip. Co., 381 So. 2d 45 (Ala. 1980); Arizona Property & Casualty Ins. Guar.
Fund v. Helme, 153 Ariz. 129, 735 P.2d 451 (1987); United Servs.
Auto. Ass'n v. Martin, 120 Cal. App. 3d 963, 174 Cal. Rptr. 835
(1981); Hansen v. Barmore, 779 P.2d 1360 (Colo. App. 1989); Brown
v. Employer's Reinsurance Corp., 206 Conn. 668, 539 A.2d 138
(1988); Farley v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 91 Idaho 37, 415 P.2d 680
(1966); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. McSpadden, 88 Ill. App.
3d 1135, 44 Ill. Dec. 215, 411 N.E.2d 121 (1980); Miller v.
Ditts, 463 N.E.2d 257 (Ind. 1984); Boone v. Lowry, 8 Kan. App. 2d
293, 657 P.2d 64 (1983); Medical Mut. Liab. Ins. Soc'y v. Miller,
52 Md. App. 602, 451 A.2d 930 (1982); Anderson v. Kemper Ins.
Co., 128 Mich. App. 249, 340 N.W.2d 87 (1983); Rieschl v.
Travelers Ins. Co., 313 N.W.2d 615 (Minn. 1981); Riffe v. Peeler,
684 S.W.2d 539 (Mo. App. 1984); Solvents Recovery Serv. v.
Midland Ins. Co., 218 N.J. Super. 49, 526 A.2d 1112 (1987);
Foundation Reserve Ins. Co. v. Esquibel, 94 N.M. 132, 607 P.2d 1150 (1980); Gabor v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 66 Ohio
App. 3d 141, 583 N.E.2d 1041 (1990); Bailey v. Universal
Underwriters Ins. Co., 258 Or. 201, 474 P.2d 746 (1970); Pickwick
Park Ltd. v. Terra Nova Ins. Co., 602 A.2d 515 (R.I. 1992); Evans
v. American Home Assurance Co., 252 S.C. 417, 166 S.E.2d 811
(1969); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Davies, 226 Va. 310,
310 S.E.2d 167 (1983); American Fidelity Co. v. Kerr, 138 Vt.
359, 416 A.2d 163 (1980); Felice v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins.
Co., 42 Wash. App. 352, 711 P.2d 1066 (1985); Dietz v. Hardware
Dealers Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 88 Wis. 2d 496, 276 N.W.2d 808
(1979).
Footnote: 10See, e.g., Smithers v. Mettert, 513 N.E.2d 660 (Ind. App.
1987); Watson v. Jones, 227 Kan. 862, 610 P.2d 619 (1980);
Thrasher v. United States Liab. Ins. Co., 19 N.Y.2d 159, 278 N.Y.S.2d 793, 225 N.E.2d 503 (1967); Donaldson v. Farm Bureau
Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 339 Pa. 106, 14 A.2d 117 (1940); Stumpf v.
Continental Casualty Co., 102 Or. App. 302, 794 P.2d 1228 (1990);
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Davies, supra.
Footnote: 11See, e.g., Rustia v. Prudential Property & Casualty Ins.
Co., 440 So. 2d 1316 (Fla. App. 1983), review denied, 450 So. 2d 488 (1984); Lappo v. Thompson, 87 Ill. App. 3d 253, 42 Ill. Dec.
531, 409 N.E.2d 26 (1980); Smithers v. Mettert, supra; American
Guarantee & Liab. Ins. Co. v. Chandler Mfg. Co., 467 N.W.2d 226
(Iowa 1991); DiMarzo v. American Mut. Ins. Co., 389 Mass. 85, 449 N.E.2d 1189 (1983); Rieschl v. Travelers Ins. Co., supra; Riffe
v. Peeler, supra; Thrasher v. United States Liab. Ins. Co.,
supra; Bailey v. Universal Underwriters Ins. Co., supra.
Footnote: 12See, e.g., United Servs. Auto. Ass'n v. Martin, supra;
Boone v. Lowry, supra; Farley v. Farmer's Ins. Exch., supra;
Smithers v. Mettert, supra; Johnson v. Wade, 47 Ill. App. 3d 610,
7 Ill. Dec. 726, 365 N.E.2d 11 (1977); American Guarantee & Liab.
Ins. Co. v. Chandler Mfg. Co., supra; Darcy v. Hartford Ins. Co.,
supra; Anderson v. Kemper Ins. Co., supra; Pawtucket Mut. Ins.
Co. v. Soles, 584 N.Y.S.2d 192 (1992); Lockwood v. Porter, 98
N.C. App. 410, 390 S.E.2d 742 (1990); Pickwick Park Ltd. v. Terra
Nova Ins. Co., supra; Bailey v. Universal Underwriters Ins. Co.,
supra; North River Ins. Co. v. Gourdine, 205 Va. 57, 135 S.E.2d 120 (1964).
Footnote: 13The declaratory judgment action has delayed resolution of
the personal injury suit. This delay is basically a result of
the insurer's intransigence in declaring the policy to be void.
This delay and its consequences cannot be charged to the insured.
Footnote: 14A further assignment of error made by the plaintiffs is
the circuit court's refusal to grant its discovery motion for
production of the insurer's file in the underlying personal
injury action. The chief argument for permitting such discovery
was to obtain written documentation on what efforts the insurer
and its agents had made to locate Mr. Thomas. This matter was
not pressed below to the point where the circuit court was
required to rule. We seen no reason why such a request would not
be relevant where the insurer asserts there is no coverage
because of the insured's failure to cooperate. See generally 20B
J. Appleman & J. Appleman, Insurance Law & Practice § 12081 (3d
ed. 1980).
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