Phoenix Indemnity Co. v. Steiden Stores
Kentucky Court of Appeals
267 S.W.2d 733 (1954)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
Steiden Stores, Inc. (Steiden) (defendant) owned stores in Louisville, Kentucky. On October 4, 1948, someone opened a safe in a Steiden store and stole $4,598.20. The police investigated but did not find a culprit nor any evidence that a store employee was involved in the theft. Steiden had an insurance policy with Phoenix Indemnity Co. (Phoenix) (plaintiff). The policy provided that Steiden would be indemnified for up to $10,000 for any loss that resulted from a dishonest, fraudulent, or criminal act committed by anyone other than a store employee, and Steiden would be indemnified for up to $2,500 for a loss resulting from an employee’s fraudulent or dishonest act. In January 1949, based on the police investigation, Phoenix paid Steiden for the full $4,598.20 loss. In November 1950, a store employee confessed to the theft. Following the confession, Phoenix sued Steiden for restitution of the amount Phoenix paid to Steiden in excess of the $2,500 limit. The trial court found in Steiden’s favor and dismissed Phoenix’s petition. Phoenix appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Waddill, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
