WPC 4Vj 0(yw@ 0J 0T3 0^ 0h 0rM 0| 0; 0 1uQ U, 0d UBV % U, U6 B) DC) AMl U* , v~ Bv D3} 0@ AO? 0D D/I Bx~| 3|x ($ DDDDӀ2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23    ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)<  9p`(ModernP 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X<6X9`(*Courier 12pt10cpiX<  9p`(Monaco<  9p`(Courier New% Line 7 d7Border 1dd- C << G<  9p`(Arial " !  #d#  ""   YYY FILED"X April3,1996CecilCrowson,Jr."AppellateCourtClerk PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'@ dStyl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Monaco   BA:Op Monaco  BA:Op Monaco %%%%'dxd("$    -C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5($$   1  ' dxdP Pd ! . &Xd&#Xd#        \RA'\7ߖXXdd7` XhXL!# ;+'h|`  `Lߛ@ INTHECOURTOFAPPEALSOFTENNESSEE@ EASTERNSECTION ALLSTATEINSURANCECOMPANY, )C/ANO.03A019512C00426      ) PlaintiffAppellant, )CLAIBORNELAW      )v.      )HON.CONRADTROUTMAN,      )JUDGEMARYLOUISEDAVIS,JOHN  )RASNIC,CAROLYNRASNIC,and )TENNESSEEFARMERSMUTUAL  )INSURANCECOMPANIES,  )REVERSED      )AND DefendantsAppellees. )REMANDEDPAULE.DUNN,DUNNMACDONALD&COLEMAN,P.C.,Knoxville,forPlaintiffAppellant.JAMESD.ESTEP,III,ESTEP&ESTEP,Tazewell,forDefendantAppellee,TennesseeFarmersMutualInsuranceCompanies.@ OPINION @         Franks.J.  Inthisdeclaratoryjudgmentaction,plaintiff,insurancecompany,soughtadeclarationthatitsinsured,JohnH.Rasnic,wasnotaninsuredunderitspolicyfortheaccidentoccurringbetweentheRasnicandDavismotorvehicles.Specifically,thecomplaintallegedthatRasnichadviolatedthepolicyprovision:0 0 Wemustbenotifiedpromptlyofhow,whenandwheretheaccidentorlosshappened.Noticeshouldalsoincludethenamesandaddressesofanyinjuredpersonsandofanywitness. AllstatewouldassertthatwhiletheaccidentoccurredonDecember1,1993,theydidnotreceivenoticeuntilJune24,1994.Theissuewastriedbeforeajury,andattheconclusionofalltheproof,theCourt directedaverdictinfavorofthedefendants and foundthatthecontrollingissuewasastateofmindoftheinsured,JohnRasnic.Withregardtosuchissue,theCourtfoundthatMr.Rasnicreasonablybelievedthatthecollisioninquestionwasatrivialmatterandthat,baseduponsuchbelief,Mr.RasnicwasjustifiedinnotimmediatelyreportingtheaccidenttoAllstate.TheCourtfurtherfoundthat,duetohisstateofmind,Mr.RasnicsdelayinreportingtheaccidenttoAllstateuntilafterhehadbeensued,compliedwiththepromptnoticeprovisionsofAllstatesinsurancepolicy.   Onappeal,AllstatedoesnotquestiontheTrialCourtstakingtheissueawayfromthejury,butinsiststhatasamatteroflawitisentitledtoajudgmentinitsfavor.  ItisclearfromtheTrialCourtsanalysisthatiterroneouslyappliedasubjectivetestratheranobjectivetest,͜whichiswhetherareasonableandprudentpersonwouldbelievethattheaccidentmightgiverisetoaclaimfordamages.NationwideMutualInsuranceCompanyv.Shannon,701S.W.2d615(Tenn.App.1985).  Rasnictestifiedthathe bumped therearoftheDaviscarandthattheoccupantsanswered no whenaskediftheywerehurt.Hetestifiedthatheadvisedifthevehiclewasdamagedtolethimknow.Mrs.Davisinsistedthattheyshould callthelaw .Apolicemancameafterthevehicleshadbeenmoved,andrefusedtoprepareawrittenaccidentreport. Twotosixweekslater theowneroftheothervehicletoldRasnicataconveniencestorethat theytotaledthecar whichRasnicunderstoodtomeantheinsurancecompany.RasnicmadenoreportoftheaccidentuntilJune23,1994,afterhereceivedsuitpapersfromtheDavises.ThemosttellingadmissionbyMr.Rasniccameoncrossexaminationafterhehadtestifiedthathehadmadepicturesofthefrontendofhisvehicle,sometwoweeksaftertheaccident:0 0 Q.0 Mr.Rasnic,ifyoudidntconsiderthisaccidentworthreportingwhatwouldbeyouroccasionfortakingphotographsofthefrontofyourvehicletwoweeksafterthisaccidenttoshowtherewasnodamagetoit?Ididntunderstand.0 0 A.0 Itcouldvebeenfourweeks,butIsaidIboughtanewcamera,PolaroidInstamatic,andthatsthefirstpicturesIvetakenwithit.AndIvegotsomeothervehiclesItookpicturesofIcanshowyou.0 0 0 ...0 0 Q.0 Isntitafact,sir,thatyoujustmadethedecisiontotrytohandlethisyourselfandgooutsideyourinsurancecompanyandhandleit?0 0 A.0 Ithoughtthedamagewasminorenough.Yes,sir.ӜThematerialfactsarenotindisputeandtheissueisaquestionoflaw.Rasnichadadutytogivenoticetohisinsurancecompanyoftheaccident,certainlynolaterthanthetimetheowneroftheothervehicleadvisedhimthatthevehiclehadbeen totaled .Ourlawisclearthatthecontractualrequirementofnoticetotheinsurerisaconditionprecedenttorecoveryunderthepolicy.Leev.Lee,732S.W.2d275(TN1987);PhoenixCottonOilCompanyv.RoyalIndemnityCompany,140Tenn.438,205S.W.128(1918).  Thisisessentiallyadisputebetweentwoinsurancecompanies,andwenotethataninsurancecompanywouldsometimesbenefitifthisinequitablerulewaschanged,i.e.,declareforfeituresofpolicycoveragesonlyincaseswherethelatereportingoftheaccidentresultedinactualprejudicetotheinsurancecompany.AsweobservedinNorthRiverInsuranceCompanyv.Johnson,757S.W.2d334(Tenn.App.1988),insurancepolicies,unlikeothercontracts,arenotpurelyprivateagreementsbutaffectthepublicgenerally.  Ourrulerepresentstheminorityview.SeeHospitalUnderwritingGroup,Inc.,v.SummitHealthLtd.,63F.3d486(6thCir.1995).ConsumersandinsurancecompaniesalikewouldbenefitiftheSupremeCourtwouldoverturntheminorityruleinfavoroftheequitablemajorityview.  WeareconstrainedtoreversethejudgmentoftheTrialCourtandthecauseisremandedforentryofajudgmentϜforappellant,inaccordancewiththisopinion.  Thecostoftheappealisassessedtoappellees.0 0       ________________________      HerschelP.Franks,J.CONCUR:___________________________HoustonM.Goddard,P.J.___________________________CliffordE.Sanders,Sp.J.