St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-10-26
Something About Insurance Matters.
lFrom the Argus.l

The business of insurance-fre, life,
and marine-has grown to immense pro-
portions in this country, and almost
every one may be presumed to be in
terested directly or indirectly in the
principles of law and equity that have
been OF may be established regarding
it, whether those principles are set forth
in statutes or in rulings of competent
judicial authority. A recent case in
the Washington County Court has at
tracted considerable attention, and nat
urally suggests some reflections upon
the whole business of insurance in gen.
eral. William A. BOutelle, of Mont
pelier, in 1874 engaged in the business
of raising and selling for seed what
were advertised and known as ''hulless
oats" During the fall of 1874 and the
ensuing winter, Mr.. Boutelle had some
two or three thousand bushels of these
oats stored in an old blacksmith shop
on Elm street, and as early as Novem-
ber, 1874, had taken out, through the
agency of A. c. Brown, policies of in
surance on bis seed oats to the amount
of $4,000, divided equally among four
companies. All the policies stipulated
that in any adjustment of losses the
value of the oats destroyed should not
be reckoned at to exceed five dollars per
bushel. The oats were offered and sold
for seed-generally in small packages
at prices amounting to from eight to
tbirty-twO dollars per bushel. In March,
1875, two of the policies expired, and
on the first of April the other two, at
which time insurance was renewed for
the original $4,000. The new policies
were written at the option of the agent,
who afterward had talk with DR.. J.
B. Woodward, who was then interested
with BOutelle to the extent of having
one quarter of the net profits as COM
pensatiOn for the use of capital furnish
ed to carry on the business. D. w.
Ramsdell, the well-known ''Norway oat
man, was to be a sharer in the profits
to the same extent as DR.. Woodward,
in consideration of services to be rem
dered in selling the oats. On the 21st
of April, 1875, the storehouse contain
ing the oats was almost wholly con-
sumed by fire, and claims were made
against the companies for the loss of
about 1900 bushels of ''hulless- oatsn
valued at about $1,000. Two of the
four companies having suspended" !"
suit was brought by Mr.. Boutelie
against the Westchester Fire Insurance
Company, of Westchester, N. Y, for
their pro rata of the loss. The claim
was resisted, on the ground that the in
surance was obtained through fraudu-
lent representations, that the value of
the oats was largely overstated, and
that the fire was occasioned through
the neglect of the plaintiff. We do not
fn xvn hct &c 1.1
testimony in the case. That the claims
of the defendants were but poorly sup
ported by the evidence, is sufficiently
manifest from the fact that the jury,
withOutmuch apparent difficulty, agreed
upon verdict of 81 ,628 for the plaintiff
"a sum larger than what Mr.. Boutelle
had proposed to settle for before the
case went to trial. Judge Redfeld's
charge to the jury was an exceedingly
clear and impartial statement of the
law of frauds, as affecting the case on
trial, and also as to the way the amount
of damage sustained by the plaintiff
should be legally ascertained. The
presence of fraud, clear and intentional,
vitiates and annuls a contract, but the
fraud must be proven, not merely in
ferred, or even shown to inure to the
advantage of the party charged with it.
The presumption is of entire honesty
and good faith, and the whole burden
of proof is upon the party setting up
the claim of fraud. A wilful and in
territorial misstatement in regard to any
material point upon which contract is
based would lead to the inference or
even the finding of fraud, but mistakes
to which even the best of men are
liable-do not impair or affect the bind
ing force of a contract or agreement,
though of course to be corrected in any
adjudictiOn between parties. AS to the
value of the oats, Judge Redfield en-
deavored to make clear the difference
between their intrinsic worth, as grain
to feed out, and their possible value in
trade when sold for seed, under repre-
sentations not fraudulent. He did not
admit that any proof had been adduced
of the plaintiffs negligence, OF of con-
spiracy or effort on Boutelle's part tc
occasion the fire which led to the claim
against the defendant company.
The public interest in the case was
occasioned by the question involved il
it, as to how far an insurance company
is to be held liable under policy O.
insurance deliberately written by then
upon valuation which they knew tt
be speculative and contingent. Accept