Smith v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company

381 So. 2d 913 (1980)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Smith v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company

Louisiana Court of Appeal
381 So. 2d 913 (1980)

Facts

Benton Smith (plaintiff) held a homeowner’s insurance policy with State Farm Fire & Casualty Company (State Farm) (defendant). The policy included an exclusion for damages inflicted by domestic animals. Smith, a farmer, filed a claim for property damage caused by a cow falling into his swimming pool. State Farm denied the claim based on the exclusionary clause, and Smith filed suit for State Farm to afford coverage. The trial court held that there was an ambiguity as to what the phrase domestic animals meant as it could either apply to household pets or domesticated animals that are not household pets. Due to the ambiguity, the trial court construed the policy against State Farm. State Farm appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Cutrer, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership