Mayer v. Auto-Owners Insurance

Plaintiffs appeal as of right from the trial court’s judgment of no cause of action rendered after a bench trial.

Plaintiff Robert Mayer is a professional farmer of gladiolus. On April 9, 1979, one of plaintiffs’ farms suffered a devastating fire. Plaintiffs had been insured with defendant Hathaway Agency since 1974. Defendant Robert Kirkpatrick purchased the agency in 1976. Plaintiffs were insured through defendant Auto-Owners. After the fire Auto-Owners paid plaintiffs $301,000 and later authorized an additional $13,657 to cover loss of irrigation equipment. However, a loss of $180,000 was…