In Emrys v. Farmers Ins. Co., 294 Or App 107, __ P3d ___ (Sept. 12, 2018), the insured owned two adjacent properties, with addresses at 106 Cofey Crossing Lane (“106 Property”) and 108 Cofey Crossing Lane (“108 Property”), insured under two separate policies. The insured let the policy for the 106 Property lapse. After the insured’s death, the estate’s personal representative learned of the properties and informed the insurer she wanted to continue the existing policy. After a fire loss at the 106 Property, the insurer denied the claim because it had only issued coverage for the 108 Property. The personal representative filed a lawsuit seeking to reform the policy to include the 106 Property. On remand from a prior appeal,[1] the trial court concluded that the reformation claim failed because there was no showing of the requisite antecedent agreement. The Court of Appeals reversed. The appellate court exercised its power to review the case de novo because, among other things, the matter was on appeal for the second time on virtually the same issue. The Court of Appeals found that, on the undisputed facts, the parties had reached an antecedent agreement to insure the 106 Property and, therefore, reform was warranted.
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