Lavoie v. North British & Mercantile Insurance

The essential issue is of the validity of the cancellation of the first policy. If it was not cancelled before the fire, liability on it ensues to the exclusion of liability on the substituted policies. In defending against liability on the substituted policies the insurers issuing them were entitled to seek to prove as a determinative fact the continuance in force of the first policy at the time of the fire. What the plaintiff had done, by himself or through agency in his behalf, and the authority of such agency to act in his behalf, became material. The plaintiff might waive the right to…