Preview:

RENDERED:  MARCH 9, 2007; 10:00 A.M.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Court of Appeals

NO.  2005-CA-002428-MR
DEWEY LITTLE AND PHYLLIS LITTLE APPELLANTS
APPEAL FROM GRANT CIRCUIT COURT
v. HONORABLE STEPHEN L. BATES, JUDGE ACTION NO. 03-CI-00287
KENTUCKY FARM BUREAU MUTUAL APPELLEE INSURANCE COMPANY
OPINION AFFIRMING ** ** ** ** ** BEFORE: ACREE, DIXON, AND KELLER, JUDGES. KELLER, JUDGE:  In this action arising from the denial of an insurance claim, Dewey and Phyllis Little have appealed from the Grant Circuit Court's November 18, 2005, order denying their motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict following a jury trial. The jury found in favor of Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, having determined that the Littles violated a condition of their mobile home policy prohibiting
the intentional concealment or misrepresentation of material facts, fraud, and the making

of false statements to the insurance company, thereby voiding their policy.  We affirm.
During the evening of July 24, 2002, the Littles' residence in Williamstown, Kentucky, was burglarized.  Dewey arrived home from work just after midnight on July 25th, and noticed that the electricity was not working when he entered the back door.  He found a flashlight and pointed it toward the living room area, where he noticed a mess. Once he determined that no one was in the house, he drove to Williamstown to call the police from a pay phone.  By the time he returned, Deputy Andrew Reeves of the Grant County Sheriff's Department had already responded to the 911 call.  Deputy Reeves and Dewey walked around to the back of the house and saw that the electric meter had been removed from the box on the utility pole.  Deputy Reeves found the meter in a field over a fence.  Dewey replaced the meter and restored the power.  They both went into the shed behind the house, noting that the lock had been broken.  Inside the shed, Deputy Reeves saw garden tools, a tool box on the bench, and hand tools.  Deputy Reeves and Dewey spent two to four minutes in the shed before proceeding to the residence.
Once in the house, Dewey immediately discovered that three handguns were missing from a closet safe.  Also missing were a Crown Royal bag containing coins and currency and his wife's jewelry, including her wedding/engagement ring.  Deputy Reeves stated that Dewey was concerned about cowboy boots and leather jackets, items that Dewey located in the residence after looking for them.  Dewey's wife, Phyllis, arrived home from work between 2:00 and 2:45 a.m., and was clearly upset about the
burglary.  Deputy Reeves asked the Littles to take some time to make a list of the missing

items and to give it to him so that he could complete his report.  The following month, Dewey gave Deputy Reeves a lengthy list of items missing from the shed and the residence, including $12,335 worth of items from the residence and $3,790 worth of items from the shed, for a total of $16,125.  
Deputy Reeves filed a Uniform Offense Report on September 5, 2002.  In his report, Deputy Reeves described responding to the burglary call, in particular noting Dewey's statement that the shed only contained

Download 2005-ca-002428.pdf

Kentucky Law