Bankers' Health & Life Ins. Co v. Knott

Decision Date15 July 1930
Docket NumberNo. 20604.,20604.
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals
PartiesBANKERS' HEALTH & LIFE INS. CO. v. KNOTT.

Syllabus by the Court.

The petition set out a cause of action and was good as against the general demurrer and the special demurrers.

Additional Syllabus by Editorial Staff.

Error from City Court of Newnan; W. L. Stallings, Judge.

Action by O. L. Knott against the Bankers' Health & Life Insurance Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant brings error.

Affirmed.

Turpin & Lane, of Macon, for plaintiff in error.

Stanford Arnold, of Newnan, for defendant in error.

LUKE, J.

This case is here on direct exceptions to a judgment overruling demurrers to the petition which sets out substantially the following case:

1. "The Bankers Health and Life Insurance Company is an insurance company * * * having an agent and place of doing business in Coweta County, Georgia."

2. "Said company is indebted to petitioner in the sum of $371.16, principal, besides interest, damages, and attorney's fees, on a contract of insurance, a copy of which is hereto attached."

3. Said principal sum is disability benefit due petitioner "from August 24, 1929, up to and including December 28, 1929, at the rate of $20.62 per week, * * * petitioner having become disabled through illness and accident on August 14, 1929."

4. From and after January 16, 1928, petitioner paid all premiums as required under said contract of insurance, and "at the time of his disability had purchased and paid for said insurance on basis of his salary of $27.50 per week."

5. "On the date of said contract and prior thereto petitioner was a regular employee of defendant company, and remained in its employ continuously from said date until August 24, 1929, and now is, in so far as rights under described policy are concerned, an employee of defendant company."

6. When he was first employed by defendant company, petitioner was in good health, but after said policy issued his health entirely failed. He became afflicted with pulmonary tuberculosis, high blood pressure, hypertension, and a general breakdown, but was discharging his duties satisfactorily until August 14, 1929, when he broke his right arm while cranking an automobile in his said employer's business.

7. "Defendant had full knowledge of petitioner's condition, and paid him under said policy during the first seven days of disability."

8. "After said time defendant's company, without any justification and reason, refused to pay your petitioner anything."

9. Defendant company, after petitioner became disabled, and with full knowledge of said disability and his helpless and dependent condition, on August 24, 1929, pretended and endeavored to discharge him. At the time he was in a disabled condition and his rights under said insurance had already matured, and any effort made to discharge him while in such condition was illegal and void.

10. "Said effort to discharge and said pretended discharge was done solely in an effort to defraud petitioner of his rights under described policy, and was fraudulent, void and illegal."

11. "At the time defendant company made such an illegal and fraudulent effort, * * * petitioner was totally unable to work and * * * totally disabled, which said fact was known to said company, and defendant company had no justification, cause, and reason to discbarge your petitioner, and had no right to do so in order to defeat his rights under described policy."

12. "This refusal to pay him benefits legally due him by said company is not in good faith, but is in absolute bad faith, and * * * petitioner is entitled to recover in this action damages and attorney's fees as provided by law."

13. "Petitioner shows that his reasonable attorney's fees for bringing and prosecuting this action is $200."

Petitioner prays that he recover of defendant company the sum of $371.16 principal, $92.79 damages, and $200 attorney's fees.

The exhibit attached to the petition is in the nature of a circular letter from the defendant to "all employees of The Bankers Health and Life Insurance Company, " notifying them that defendant had discontinued its plan of maintaining group life insurance for the benefit of Its employees and had substituted therefor a "death benefit fund out of which to pay to the properly designated beneficiary or bene-ficiaries of any of its employees, in the event of the death of any such employee after the completion of six months' continuous service with the company, the sum of $500, or, after not less than one year of such continuous service, the sum of $1,000, " such death benefit fund to "be maintained for, and paid only to bona fide dependents of the deceased employees, and not to an estate if there are no dependents."

These parts of said circular letter with which we are concerned follow: "The company will maintain for the benefit of its employees a disability benefit fund under which a weekly indemnity to the extent of three fourths of the salary of any such employee may be purchased by and paid to him in the event of his disability through illness or accident, the cost of such indemnity to any employee desiring to receive the benefit of its provisions being at the rate of 61/4¢ weekly for each $5 of weekly indemnity, the company undertaking to provide any other amount needed to cover cost thereof, the cost contribution of each employee to be paid in cash weekly or monthly, in advance, through the superintendent of the district in which...

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