Court Opinion

ID: 9773802
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 17:59:34.744925+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:58.022793
License: Public Domain

*823COVINGTON, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. In Tresner v. State Farm Ins. Co., this Court stated that in an action to recover on an insurance policy, the insured must either prove compliance with policy provisions or show sufficient excuse for non-compliance. Tresner v. State Farm Ins. Co., 913 S.W.2d 7, 9 (Mo. bane 1995). This Court explained that an insured’s failure to comply literally with an insurance policy’s “timely notice” provision may be excused if the insured can show substantial compliance with the provision. Id. at 10, 15. An insured proves that he is in “substantial compliance” with a policy’s notice provision when the insured shows that he gave notice within a “reasonable” time. See, e.g., Greer v. Zurich Ins., 441 S.W.2d 15, 30-32 (Mo.1969)(explain-ing that substantial compliance is determined on the facts of the case and assuming that to meet the requirement of substantial compliance, notice must be given within a “reasonable” time.). The question of whether notice was given within a reasonable time is generally for the jury, but where all reasonable persons would conclude that notice was not given within a reasonable time, the question is one of law for the court. Tresner, 913 S.W.2d at 14, citing Hayes v. Equitable Life Assur. Soc., 235 Mo.App. 1261, 150 S.W.2d 1113, 1118 (1941).
In my view, the Weavers did not present facts that would allow the trial court to determine that they were in substantial compliance with the policy’s requirement that notice be given “as soon as reasonably possible.” Mr. Weaver was represented by counsel for the purposes of filing a workers’ compensation claim, yet he did not ask counsel to review the State Farm policy. The Weavers concede that they did not seek legal advice on the availability of coverage under the State Farm policy until February 1993, eleven months after the accident. The Weavers did not serve State Farm with a summons and petition until March 2, 1993, one year after the accident. Under these circumstances, all reasonable minds would conclude the notice was not in substantial compliance with the insurance policy’s notice requirement, so the question was one of law for the court. See Tresner, 913 S.W.2d at 14. Summary judgment was proper.
The effect of the majority opinion is to relieve the insured of any burden to prove substantial compliance, rejecting the portion of Tresner that requires that an insured prove substantial compliance as an element of his or her case. See Tresner, 913 S.W.2d at 9-10. The majority states, “[T]he insurer must establish prejudice to forfeit the coverage to which the insured would otherwise be entitled.” Op. at 821. The majority states that in order to prevail in such a case, the insurer must prove that the insured failed to provide timely notice and that the insurer was thereby prejudiced. Op. at 821, citing MAI 32.24. See Tresner, 913 S.W.2d at 16. The insured no longer has to give notice of a claim to his insurer, regardless of what the insurance policy requires. In every case, the insured may simply bring suit against the insurer. The insurer then has the burden of proving a negative, that it was prejudiced by the delay.1
Even in a case in which an insured’s notice is late because of incapacity, the insured must come forward with evidence that he was incapacitated to the extent that it was not possible for him to provide timely notice. Tresner, 913 S.W.2d at 15. Only after the insured can establish that he was sufficiently incapacitated does the trier of fact decide whether notice was given within a reasonable time. Id. One factor to be considered in making this determination is prejudice to the insurer. Id. It is inconsistent that the insured should have a lesser burden in a case where he was not incapacitated, yet that is the effect of the majority opinion.
*824Here, the insured, in my view, presented no evidence from which the trier of fact could determine that notice was given within a reasonable time. The trial court properly determined, as a matter of law, that the insured did not comply substantially with the policy’s notice requirement. I would affirm the judgment. '