Court Opinion

ID: 9573305
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:52:13.945604+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:40:12.862141
License: Public Domain

MOORE, Justice,
concurring and dissenting:
I concur in Part 1 of the majority opinion regarding reformation based on an invalid endorsement. I disagree, however, with the holding in Part 2 affirming the grant of summary *595judgment on the issue of reformation based on mutual mistake. Accordingly, I dissent from that portion of the opinion.
In concluding there is no factual issue regarding a mutual mistake, the majority overlooks pertinent deposition testimony by Empire’s agent, Ken Rickel, who wrote the original Empire policy. In context, Rickel testified as follows:
Q: Okay. Now, when you first wrote this policy or first filled out this application with Mr. Shields, that was the first time you had met him?
A: Yes, to the best of my recollection.
Q: Had Empire written insurance to him previously?
A: No.
Q: Do you know who had written his insurance previously?
A: Nationwide.
Q: And did you do any investigation into the Nationwide coverage?
A: Yes, I would have. When I was doing the application, I asked John what type of coverage he had.
Q: What did he tell you?
A: He told me he had half a million dollars of coverage and we went over the inventory coverage on (sic) the garage liability. We went over his inventory coverage. I didn’t feel he was carrying enough but he told me — he specifically said that that’s what he wanted. He wanted the $100,000,1 believe, for inventory coverage. That he felt he was definitely safe with that limit. And then we went over his property coverage also.
Q: Okay. Did you see his Nationwide policy ?
A: I know that I saw his Nationwide policy on the property. I don’t recall — I’m not sure if I saw the Nationwide policy on the liability.
Q: Okay. And this would have been in the context of the discussions prior to the filling out of the application?
A: This would have taken place while I was filling out the application.
Based on this testimony, I believe the Court of Appeals correctly concluded the record “does not show that Rickel was *596aware of the Nationwide policies and their contents.” Absent evidence that Rickel knew the Nationwide policies covered customers for the full liability limits, there is no clear and convincing evidence of his intent in writing the initial Empire policy. See Truck South, Inc. v. Patel, 339 S.C. 40, 528 S.E.2d 424 (2000) (mistake must be common to both parties and, by reason of it, each has done what neither intended); Sims v. Tyler, 276 S.C. 640, 281 S.E.2d 229 (1981) (before equity will reform an instrument, it must be shown by clear and convincing evidence not simply that it was a mistake on the part of one of the parties but that it was a mutual mistake).
In my opinion, summary judgment was inappropriately granted. I would affirm the Court of Appeals’ ruling remanding the case for trial on the issue of reformation based on mutual mistake.