Planters Manufacturing Company v. Protection Mutual Insurance Company

TUTTLE, Chief Judge:

The ultimate dispute here is whether plaintiff’s soybean storage warehouse was damaged by a beau dust explosion (in which case defendant would be liable for the damage under a contract of insurance), or by a structural failure resulting from inadequate design, overloading, or a combination of both (risks not covered by the policy). Invoking the diversity jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, plaintiff sought a judicial determination of this controversy. A jury resolved the dispute in plaintiff’s favor. The trial judge,…