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Appeals court case centers on definition of corn stoverDES MOINES, Iowa (AP)--When is cornfield residue stover and when is it stubble? That's the question the Iowa Court of Appeals decided in ruling in favor of a farmer who sued his insurance company after it failed to cover fire damage to a field. The case, which originated in Pottawattamie County District Court in Council Bluffs, involved Kurt Stamp and Caroline Stamp and Western Iowa Mutual Insurance Co. The Stamps had a farm insurance policy in effect when a fire that started on a neighboring property spread onto their farm field on March 6, 2005. The Stamps had harvested their crop the previous fall, but stalks, cobs and leaves remaining in the field were damaged. They asked for damages for the crop residue, which they said an expert witness would indicate had market value at around $160,000. The insurance company said the stalks, cobs and leaves in the field were stubble, which were not covered under the policy. District Court Judge James M. Richardson concluded that stover and stubble were the same thing and the insurance policy excluded them. The Stamps appealed. The appeals court said an insurance company has a duty to define policy exclusions in clear and explicit terms. The court said in cases of dispute, it routinely uses a dictionary to determine ordinary meanings. The dictionary defines stover as refuse of a field crop such as stalks and leaves of corn after the ears are harvested, while stubble is defined as a stump of a cultivated plant left in the ground after a cutting or harvest. The insurance policy exclusion for standing seed or forage crops, straw or stubble does not specifically include stover, the court said. "The exclusion relied on by the defendant is not clear and explicit and we conclude the exclusion is ambiguous as to whether it covers stover," the court said. "We do not agree with the district court that stubble and stover mean the same thing." The court sent the case back to district court, where a jury will decide how much the Stamps can recover from the insurance company. "This only settles the question of whether there's coverage," said Philip J. Willson, of Council Bluffs, the Stamps' attorney. "The damage question will have to bet settled." Gregory Barntsen, a Council Bluffs attorney representing the insurance company, said the appeals court will be asked to reconsider, and an appeal will be filed with the Iowa Supreme Court. "We do not think the ruling is right," he said. "We believe the exclusion does apply to what's being discussed in this case." Date: 8/22/07
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