Standard Supply Co. v. Reliance Insurance Co.

Before renewing Standard's (plaintiff) fire policy, Reliance (defendant) hired Tar Heel to inspect the insured house, and inspector Jennings found no electricity or heat, sparse furnishings, and broken windows -- conditions suggesting over a year of vacancy despite a neighbor's claim that people were living there -- yet reported the house was not vacant; after Reliance issued the renewal and the house later burned, it denied coverage under the policy's vacancy-exclusion clause, and the trial court instructed the jury that Jennings's knowledge could not be imputed to Reliance, resulting in a verdict finding no waiver.