Thorp v. Ætna Insurance
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Assumpsit, on a fire insurance policy. The facts were agreed, and. the questions of law arising thereon were transferred from the September term, 1908, of the superior court by Pike, J., without a ruling. The policy insured the plaintiffs against loss from fire or lightning to the amount of $400 “ on horses . . . contained in frame barn.”
Read the full summary
Assumpsit, on a fire insurance policy. The facts were agreed, and. the questions of law arising thereon were transferred from the September term, 1908, of the superior court by Pike, J., without a ruling. The policy insured the plaintiffs against loss from fire or lightning to the amount of $400 “ on horses . . . contained in frame barn.” July 29, 1906, a horse owned by the plaintiffs was killed by lightning while in a pasture one eighth of a mile distant from the barn described in the policy and entirely independent thereof. The horse had been in the pasture for two months and had been taken…
1Opinion of the CourtYoung, J.
The defendants agreed to insure the plaintiffs against loss to the amount of “$400 on horses, . . . hay, grain, and produce contained in frame barn.” It will be necessary, therefore, to ascertain what is intended by “ contained in,” as used in the policy (Stone v. Insurance Co., 69 N. H. 438, 440) ; for horses “ contained in ” the barn are the only ones insured.
Did the parties intend that the policy should cover the horses the plaintiffs had in the barn when the contract was made, or those “ contained in ” it when the loss occurred ? The only evidence relevant to this issue is the language of…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Noyes v. Northwestern National InsuranceWisconsin Supreme Court · 1885
- De Graff v. Queen InsuranceSupreme Court of Minnesota · 1888
- Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance v. KryderIndiana Court of Appeals · 1892
- Hapeman v. Citizens' Mutual Fire-InsuranceMichigan Supreme Court · 1901
3Cited by2 opinions
- Mears v. Hartford Fire InsuranceCourt of Appeals of Kansas · 1983
- Berlin v. KilpatrickTrumbull County Court of Common Pleas · 1958