Section 13 Examples of Litigable Issues: Open Questions of Fact

• Library: Damages 2012

For an excellent discussion of the various cases concerning whether the facts made a given case submissible on vexatious refusal, see Hopkins v. American Economy Insurance Co., 896 S.W.2d 933 (Mo. App. W.D. 1995).

Examples of cases involving questions of fact that precluded assessment of vexatious penalties include the following:

· In Groves v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 540 S.W.2d 39 (Mo. banc 1976), the insurer defended a claim under the comprehensive coverage of an automobile policy on the basis that the damage to the automobile’s engine was caused by ordinary wear and tear rather than vandalism and that it had, in good faith, relied on the opinion of an expert concerning the cause of the damage. The Supreme Court of Missouri said, “An insurance company may question and contest an issue of fact relating to its liability if it has reasonable cause to believe, and does believe, that there is no liability under its policy and that it has a...