G.R. No. 35848 , 35849, 35850. November 22, 1932.
THE EAST FURNITURE INC., plaintiff-appellant, vs. THE GLOBE & RUTGERS FIRE INSURANCE CO. OF NEW YORK, et al., defendants-appellees.

FACTS

The East Furniture Inc. filed three separate actions to recover the total sum of P20,000 from three fire insurance companies after its furniture store was destroyed by fire on March 2, 1929. The defendants denied liability and raised special defenses, including that the fire was of intentional (incendiary) origin and that the plaintiff’s claim of loss was false and fraudulent. The trial court found the claims “notoriously fraudulent” based on the evidence and dismissed the complaints. The plaintiff appealed.

ISSUE

Whether the plaintiff’s claims for insurance proceeds should be denied on the grounds of (1) intentional origin of the fire, and/or (2) fraudulent claims of loss.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the complaints. The Court found sufficient evidence to conclude that the fire was of intentional origin, noting the presence of gasoline and kapok saturated with gasoline in the burned premises, the manager’s inadequate explanation, and corroborated testimony about the plaintiff’s prior intention to burn the store due to financial distress. Given this finding on the first special defense, the Court deemed it unnecessary to extensively discuss the issue of fraudulent claims. However, the evidence also supported the trial court’s finding that the claims were fraudulent, as the claimed loss was grossly exaggerated compared to the actual value of the inventory. The defenses being valid, the plaintiff was not entitled to recover on the insurance policies.

AI Generated by Armztrong.