# Atwater Creamery Co. v. Western National Mutual Insurance Co.

> Supreme Court of Minnesota · April 19, 1985 · 366 N.W.2d 271

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9686625

## Case

- **Full name:** ATWATER CREAMERY COMPANY, Appellant, v. WESTERN NATIONAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, and Strehlow Insurance Agency, Et Al., Respondents
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Minnesota
- **Decided:** April 19, 1985
- **Citations:** 366 N.W.2d 271; 52 A.L.R. 4th 1217; 1985 Minn. LEXIS 1047
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Coyne
- **Judges:** Wahl, Simonett, Peterson, Kelley
- **Cited by:** 158 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9686625

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding that expert testimony was required to establish standard of care because "the issue center[ed] around the professional judgment of the agent in the absence of requests for action"
- holding that expert testimony was required to establish standard of care because “the issue centered] around the professional judgment of the agent in the absence of requests for action”
- concluding that "where major exclusions are hidden in the definitions section, the insured should be held only to reasonable knowledge of the literal terms and conditions"
- noting that whether an insurance agent's professional judgments were negligent is assessed against the standard of care an ordinary insurance agent would take in the performance of professional duties
- holding the reasonable expectations doctrine prevents application of an exclusion "hidden" within the definitions section of a policy

## Opinion text

*280 COYNE, Justice
(concurring specially).
I join in the special concurrence of Justice Simonett.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9686625. Public record. Not legal advice.