THE AETNA CASUALTY & SURETY COMPANY, A FOREIGN CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
HASAN SHIHADA, SADAT UTHMAN AND ABDEL H. JODE, APPELLEES
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An insurance company (Aetna) appealed a garnishment judgment, arguing that the insured tortfeasor violated the insurance policy's cooperation clause by giving inconsistent statements to investigators versus trial testimony. The court affirmed the trial judge's finding that no cooperation violation occurred, distinguishing this case from precedent and finding sufficient evidence to support the lower court's determination.
The court held that the trial judge properly found no violation of the cooperation clause. To sustain a defense based on lack of cooperation, the variance between pre-trial statements and trial testimony must be both a conscious variance on the insured's part and a material and substantial variance. The variances here could have been unconscious due to the insured's unfamiliarity with English.
“in order to sustain the defense of lack of co-operation, the variance between the statements and information given before the trial and his testimony at the trial had to be a conscious variance on his part as well as a material and substantial variance”
Establishes the legal standard for cooperation clause violations, requiring both conscious and material variance
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAetna was the garnishee in a post-judgment garnishment action arising from an automobile collision. The tortfeasor gave written statements to Aetna's …
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The appellant was the garnishee in an action after judgment. The appellee, gar-nishor, was the plaintiff in the principal action. The appellant, an insurance company, appeals the final judgment in garnishment upon the ground that the evidence before the trial judge established as a matter of law that the insurance contract was violated by the tort-feasor’s failure to co-operate.
The evidence relied upon in an attempt to establish that the findings of the trial judge are against the manifest weight of the evidence is: (1) Two written statements of the tort-feasor taken by investigators for appellant soon after the automobile collision and (2) the tort-feasor’s testimony at the trial. It is urged that the discrepancies between the two are such that the appellant was mislead and prejudiced in its defenses. See Glens Falls Indemnity Co. v. Lingle, Fla.App.1961, 133 So.2d 78.
*15In the Glens Falls case, the court held that a change of position by the insured after two years, whereby he initially maintained that the claimants were his employees and later at trial that they were not employees, was sufficient in the absence of anything to the contrary to show as a matter of law that the standard co-operation clause had been violated.
A review of this record convinces us that there are material distinctions in the two cases, and that there was sufficient evidence before the trier of fact upon which he could find that there was no violation of the provision for co-operation. The evidence which is capable of supporting the trial judge’s determination is: (1) The fact that the insurance company was aware that the tort-feasor had presented a different version of the accident; (2) the record discloses that the insurance company either knew or had at their disposal the facts of the accident; (3) the tort-feasor spoke broken English, and there was no showing in the record that he was able to read English; (4) he did not write or swear to the statements, but rather the statements consisted of the investigator’s version of what he was told and was signed by the tort-feasor; (5) the conflicts which the appellant relies upon as grounds for proving failure to co-operate may be explained as admissions that the tort-feasor was not sure of some of the facts contained in the written statements.
Under these circumstances, and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the findings of the trial judge, we believe that this case is governed by the principles set forth in Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation v. Lucas, 6 Cir.1934, 74 F.2d 115, 98 A.L.R. 1461. In that case the court affirmed a conclusion of the trier of fact that no violation of the co-operation clause had been shown. In substance the court held that in order to sustain the defense of lack of co-operation, the variance between the statements and information given before the trial and his testimony at the trial had to be a conscious variance on his part as well as a material and substantial variance. It is possible that due to circumstances, such as lack of familiarity with the English Language, the variances in the present case were unconscious rather than conscious. See also American Fire and Casualty Co. v. Vliet, 148 Fla. 568, 4 So.2d 862, 139 A.L.R. 767 (1941).
Affirmed.
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AETNA Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Hasan Shihada, 212 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 1968)…PER CURIAM. On a prima facie of showing of “conflict jurisdiction” we granted certiorari and have heard oral argument. The decision under review is Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Shihada, 196 So. 2d 14 (3d D.C.A.Fla.1967). Allegedly it conflicts with Glens Falls Indemnity Co. v. Lingle, 133 So. 2d 78 (2d D.C.A.Fla.1961). On further examination of the record and briefs we have concluded that there is no jurisdictional conflict of decisions. The wr…
Authorities Cited
- Am. Fire & Cas. Co. v. Vliet, 148 Fla. 568 (Fla. 1941)
- Ocean Accident & Guar. Corp. v. Lucas, 74 F.2d 115 (6th Cir. 1934)
- Springer v. Fla. Steel Corp., 133 So. 2d 78 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)
- Glens Falls Indem. Co. v. Lingle, 133 So. 2d 78 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)