Issue: The owners of a quarter horse had installed him temporarily in a barn which had been damaged in a hurricane. The horse died as a result of overeating wheat which had been stored in an adjoining stall, and to which the horse had gained access by kicking through the boards of his stall.

The owners contended that the death of the horse was covered under the policy which insured against loss "…directly resulting from or made necessary by…" windstorm. They argued that the death of the horse was caused by, and was a direct result of, the hurricane since the hurricane had weakened the barn to such an extent that the animal was able to push through the stall to get to the wheat.

Judgment: The company retorted that the owners were negligent in placing the horse in a stall suspected of being structurally weakened by the hurricane and next to the stall where the wheat was stored. The company argued that the owners were negligent in that they had exposed the horse to the obvious danger of food founder.

The trial court ruled in favor of the insured, but this was reversed by the appellate court since that court believed that the windstorm was, at most, an indirect or remote cause of the animal’s death.

On appeal to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, the judgment of the appellate court was affirmed. The higher court stated that there was no evidence to show that the windstorm provided the horse access to the wheat, and there was no evidence to show that it was the weakened condition of the stall, and not the animal’s desire for the wheat, which enabled the horse to kick through the partition.

The court was of the opinion that the phrase"…or made necessary by…windstorm" was not applicable. The windstorm did not cause the death of the horse; instead, it was the horse’s propensity to eat the wheat which ultimately caused his death and this was not a result of the windstorm.

Lorio vs. Aetna Insurance Co. – Louisiana Supreme Court – February 23, 1970 (Rough Notes Magazine, August 1970)