DE MUNIZ, C.J.
Plaintiff entered into an oral course-of-construction insurance binder
On appeal, the Court of Appeals, relying on ORS 742.043(1),
Because the jury returned a verdict in plaintiff's favor, we state the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Jensen v. Medley, 336 Or. 222, 226, 82 P.3d 149 (2003) (facts stated in light most favorable to plaintiff, because plaintiff was prevailing party before jury). Plaintiff decided to build a new house on a small farm in Yamhill County. In
In August 2003, plaintiff met with Pittman and notified him that he had signed a construction contract and that course-of-construction insurance needed to be in effect at the beginning of September 2003. Pittman agreed to provide course-of-construction insurance effective September 1, 2003. The builder started construction later that month. In October 2003, plaintiff notified Pittman that he had not received the written policy and Pittman told plaintiff that he would receive the policy soon. By December 2003, however, plaintiff had received only a premium statement from defendant.
An ice storm struck the Willamette Valley in January 2004. Because the builder had left the partially completed house open to the weather, snow, ice, and water accumulated inside the house. As a result the interior sheathing split, water accumulated in the crawl space, and mold grew.
Shortly thereafter, plaintiff contacted Pittman to inform him of the damage and to initiate an insurance claim. Pittman told plaintiff that damage caused by wind, rain, flood, and water would be covered and that mold damage also might be covered. Plaintiff still had not received his written policy. In March 2004, plaintiff received a declaration page from defendant showing that coverage for a "dwelling under construction" had been added to plaintiff's existing policy. Pittman told plaintiff that the addition provided the coverage for the new construction previously discussed. However, the policy that defendant issued contained provisions requiring direct physical loss, as well as exclusions for the perils of faulty workmanship, mold, and damage caused by water backup from sewer drains. Defendant later denied plaintiff's insurance claim based on those exclusions.
Plaintiff brought an action against defendant for breach of the oral binder and, alternatively, for failing to deliver a copy of the written policy within a reasonable time. Plaintiff also sought attorney fees under ORS 742.061. At the conclusion of the trial's evidentiary phase, defendant moved for a directed verdict, arguing that plaintiff had failed to establish that the oral binder provided coverage beyond that expressed in the written policy and that plaintiff had failed to establish that he had been damaged by defendant's failure to deliver the policy in a timely manner. The trial court denied defendant's motion. A jury subsequently returned a verdict finding that Pittman had entered into an oral contract of insurance on behalf of defendant that eliminated both the requirement for direct physical loss and the exclusions for mold, water damage, and damage by faulty workmanship or construction and further finding that defendant had failed to deliver the written policy within a reasonable period of time. The jury awarded plaintiff damages in the amount of $268,417. The trial court entered a supplemental judgment awarding plaintiff attorney fees and costs.
On appeal, defendant raised multiple assignments of error. The Court of Appeals, however, reached only defendant's challenge to the trial court's denial of defendant's motion for directed verdict on plaintiff's contract claims under the oral binder and for
On review, plaintiff argues that the Court of Appeals incorrectly construed ORS 742.043(1) by requiring plaintiff to show that the usual exclusions of the written policy had been "definitely, explicitly, and unambiguously" superseded by the binder. Plaintiff further argues that the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that he had not proven that he was damaged by defendant's failure to timely deliver the written policy. For its part, defendant maintains that (1) the Court of Appeals correctly held that the "usual terms of the policy" are superseded only when the parties have agreed to "clear and express" terms—definite, express, and unambiguous— that are different from the usual policy terms; and (2) there was no evidence plaintiff was damaged by defendant's failure to timely deliver the policy. According to defendant, the trial court erred in denying its motion for directed verdict and in submitting the case to the jury. Defendant also argues that plaintiff is not entitled to attorney fees, because an oral binder is not a "written policy" as required by ORS 742.061.
At the outset, we observe that defendant concedes that Pittman entered into an oral binder for course-of-construction insurance covering plaintiff's new residence, and that the binder remained in place at all times relevant to this litigation.
ORS 742.043 provides, in part:
(Emphasis added.) In interpreting a statute, our paramount goal is to discern the legislature's intent, and the statute's own words are the most persuasive evidence of that intent. State v. Gaines, 346 Or. 160, 171, 206 P.3d 1042 (2009). The text of ORS 742.043(1) provides that the binder "shall be deemed to include all the usual terms of the policy * * *, except as superseded by the clear and express terms of the binder." That highlighted text modifies "all the usual terms of the policy" and makes the binder's clear and express terms controlling over those contained in the usual policy.
The question remains, however, what the legislature meant by the terms "clear and express." The Court of Appeals concluded that the terms "clear and express" meant that the oral binder terms must "definitely, explicitly, and unambiguously supersede the terms [in the written policy]." Stuart, 235 Or.App. at 204, 230 P.3d 958. The Court of Appeals assumed, because of the jury verdict in plaintiff's favor, that Pittman had agreed to
Id. Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals concluded that the terms "safety net" and coverage "in all instances that something goes wrong" were too vague and obscure to satisfy the "clear and express" requirements of ORS 742.043(1). Id. For the reasons that follow, we disagree.
Words of common usage, such as "clear" and "express," should be given their plain and ordinary meaning. PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or. 606, 611, 859 P.2d 1143 (1993). We agree with the Court of Appeals that, as used in the statute, the term "clear" means "easily understood" and the term "express" means "directly and distinctly stated, rather than implied or left to inference." 235 Or.App. at 203, 230 P.3d 958. Those definitions lead to the unremarkable conclusion that the "clear and express" requirement in ORS 742.043(1) means that those binder terms that are easily understood and expressed, as opposed to implied, will ordinarily be sufficient to supersede the usual or contrary terms in a policy.
As noted above, there is evidence that plaintiff requested insurance that provided "catch basin" or "safety net" coverage in "all instances that something goes wrong during construction," in essence an "all risk" policy. Those words were expressed by plaintiff to Pittman, not implied, and the request for coverage "in all instances [where] something goes wrong during construction" is easily understood as meaning exactly what it says. Further, Pittman was aware that plaintiff
Contrary to the Court of Appeals, we conclude that the terms "safety net" or "catch basin" or coverage "in all instances that something goes wrong during construction" were not vague or obscure. Rather, those terms, in the context in which they were used, were easily understood and were not implied or left to inference, and thus were sufficient under the "clear and express" requirement in ORS 742.043(1). Accordingly, there was evidence in the record from which the jury reasonably could conclude that Pittman agreed to coverage that was different from that expressed in the written policy— eliminating the requirement for direct physical loss and the exclusions for mold, water damage, and faulty workmanship or construction.
Finally, we consider whether attorney fees were properly awarded by the trial court.
Defendant asserts that, because an oral binder is not a written policy, the trial court should not have awarded plaintiff his attorney fees under ORS 742.061. We disagree.
ORS 742.043(2) provides that the policy issued will "include[] within its terms the identical insurance bound under the binder and the premium therefor[.]" The jury's findings that plaintiff and defendant entered into an enforceable oral binder of insurance means that, as a matter of law, the written policy of insurance issued by defendant is deemed to include all the terms of the oral binder.
This court has previously allowed attorney fees under the predecessor to ORS 742.061,
Id. at 563, 525 P.2d 1003.
Moreover, our case law has long recognized that, where the insured is entitled to a recovery under an insurance binder, the insured is entitled to attorney fees under ORS 742.061. For example, in Hartford v. Aetna/Mt. Hood Radio, 270 Or. 226, 527 P.2d 406 (1974), two insurance companies (Hartford and Western) entered into insurance binders with the insured, Mt. Hood, to cover the loss of a television tower. The insurers argued that there was no enforceable binder of insurance and that no attorney fees should be allowed, because the case was brought as a declaratory judgment between the insurance companies. In concluding that the insured, Mt. Hood, was entitled to attorney fees, this court observed that:
Id. at 236, 527 P.2d 406.
Our case law establishes that a recovery under an enforceable insurance binder can support an award of attorney fees pursuant to ORS 742.061. The trial court did not err in awarding plaintiff his attorney fees.
The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
United Pac. Ins. v. Truck Ins. Exch., 273 Or. 283, 289-90, 541 P.2d 448 (1975).
Defendant argues that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that plaintiff was required to prove the existence and the terms of an oral insurance binder by clear and convincing evidence. The Court of Appeals' disposition of the case did not require that it reach the issue. Because defendant conceded the existence of the oral binder, we need not address whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury regarding the heightened standard of proof. The dispute before the jury concerned the terms of the binder. As to that issue, the trial court correctly instructed the jury on plaintiff's burden of proof. See Dodd v. Home Mutual Insurance Co., 22 Or. 3, 7, 28 P. 881 (1892) (whether plaintiff sustained his allegations in oral insurance contract dispute examined under preponderance of the evidence standard).
The jury found that defendant had entered into an oral binder that was different than the later issued policy by defendant. A finding for plaintiff on any one of the above specifications under question 2 was sufficient to support the verdict for plaintiff. See Shoup v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 335 Or. 164, 61 P.3d 928 (2003) (jury verdict sustained where at least one valid specification supported by evidence).