Olmstead v. Lumbermens Mutual Ins.

In argument and in brief counsel discuss and invite our attention to certain clauses of the insurance contract which spawn a number of barriers which must be hurdled by one in search of the intent of the parties. In the case at bar, only one is pivotal, i. e., what is a “collapse.”

Plaintiffs urge that the word “collapse” is reasonably open to different interpretations and requires construction most favorable to the insureds and against the insurer or creator of the language. Mumaw v. Western & Southern Life Ins. Co., 97 Ohio St. 1, paragraph one of the syllabus; Great American Mut. Indem. Co.…