Hames Ready Mix, Inc. v. Transit Casualty Co.

—Defendant appeals from a judgment imposing liability under an automobile insurance policy issued to plaintiffs by defendant and awarding plaintiffs damages. The court found that a 1960 Kenworth tractor acquired by plaintiffs and damaged in an accident was a replacement for a 1955 Ken-worth tractor described in the policy and was therefore covered by the policy. The sole issue on appeal is the sufficiency of the evidence to support this finding.

The policy in question extended coverage to “newly acquired automobiles,” defined as follows: “(2) Newly Acquired Automobile—an automobile, ownership of which is acquired by the named insured or his spouse if a resident of the same household:

This is a typical “automatic insurance” clause, which is the subject of an annotation in 34 A.L.R.2d 936 , and which has been the subject of extensive interpretation by the courts. In Birch v. Harbor Ins. Co., 126 Cal.App.2d 714 [ 272 P.2d 784 ], it was held that the clause is to be construed in the alternative, as providing coverage either if the newly acquired automobile is a replacement, or if on the date of its delivery the company insures all automobiles then owned by the insured. The general…