Opinion ID: 2276887
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Green Mountain's Secondary Liability for Insurance Proceeds

Text: [¶ 45] Green Mountain contends that its only malfeasance was the failure to obtain the increased coverage limits, and once the court construed, either on a reformation or an estoppel theory, the insurance contract as containing the increased coverage, the situation was the same as if it had procured the increased coverage. It cites several cases for the proposition that an insurance agent is not liable for damages for failing to procure a policy when a court construes the policy as requested and finds the insurer liable. One of those cases neither cites authority nor offers reasoning as to why it held that the claim against the agent for negligence should have been dismissed. See John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. McNeill, 27 Ariz.App. 502, 556 P.2d 803, 809 (1976). [8] Green Mountain also relies on Trible v. Tower Ins. Co., 43 Wis.2d 172, 168 N.W.2d 148 (1969), in which the court held that an insured was not entitled to recover both on his contract action against the insurer and his tort action against the agent. The Trible case has been distinguished by Appleton Chinese Food, 519 N.W.2d at 679, on the basis that Trible invoked the doctrine of election of remedies, and because the purpose of the doctrine is to prevent double recovery, the doctrine is not applicable when there is no threat of a double recovery. See also Zubek v. Edlund, 228 Wis.2d 783, 598 N.W.2d 273, 276 (Ct.App. 1999) (holding that insured's settlement with insurer did not preclude negligence claim against insurance agent for failure to procure insurance). [¶ 46] Green Mountain urges us to apply the election of remedies doctrine and argues that it is inconsistent to hold Green Mountain liable for failing to procure the increased limits and hold the insurers liable for the increased limits. We disagree and find no inconsistency. The insurers are liable to pay the proceeds of the insurance policy up to the increased limits because they are estopped from denying the higher limits due to the actions of their agent, Green Mountain. Green Mountain is independently liable for breach of its duty to procure the increased limits. The fundamental purpose, of the doctrine of election of remedies is to prevent double recovery for a single wrong or injury. ANDREW M. HORTON & PEGGY L. MCGEHEE, MAINE CIVIL REMEDIES § 2-3 at 23 (3d ed.1996). In this case there is no possibility of a double recovery; County Forest cannot collect the entire judgment from both the insurers and Green Mountain; it is entitled to be made whole only once. The election of remedies doctrine is inapplicable. We see no justifiable basis to release Green Mountain from secondary liability for the insurance proceeds simply because the insurers are estopped from denying the increased coverage limits. [9]