Boeck v. Modern Woodmen of Am.
| Decision Date | 17 November 1913 |
| Citation | 143 N.W. 999,162 Iowa 159 |
| Parties | BOECK ET AL. v. MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from District Court, Floyd County; C. H. Kelley, Judge.
Action at law on an insurance benefit certificate. From a verdict and judgment for plaintiffs, this appeal is taken. Reversed.Truman Plantz and Geo. G. Perrin, both of Rock Island, Ill., and J. C. Campbell, of Charles City, for appellant.
Ellis & Ellis, of Charles City, for appellees.
I. This action was brought at law to recover from the defendant upon a beneficiary certificate issued to Paul E. Boeck in December, 1898. Boeck died November 28, 1909. The defenses to the action were that, in his application for membership, Boeck, in answer to certain interrogatories, stated that he had never been intoxicated, and also that he only drank one glass of beer a week, whereas said Boeck had been intoxicated prior to making said application, and that he then consumed a greater quantity of liquor than a glass of beer per week, and that the statements made by him were warranties which were untrue.
Defendant further pleaded that the contract of insurance provided that it should be void if the death of said Paul E. Boeck resulted indirectly from his use of intoxicating liquor, and it is alleged that his death resulted indirectly from such cause. In reply, the plaintiff pleaded a waiver of the provision of the contract, the application, and the by-laws, for the reason that the defendant well knew the habits and condition of Boeck, and his use of intoxicating liquor, and with such knowledge received and accepted assessments.
Upon the trial, at the conclusion of the evidence, the defendant moved for a directed verdict in its favor, based upon the ground that there was no evidence introduced which showed any other cause of death than that resulting indirectly from the use of intoxicating liquors, and that a verdict for plaintiff would be without support. The motion was overruled, the cause was submitted, and a verdict was returned in favor of the plaintiff. Motion for new trial having been overruled, judgment was entered on the verdict, and the defendant appeals.
[1] II. Appellant makes assignment of errors covering 14 different points, all of which, excepting the first, second, third, and fourteenth, are so general in terms that we are not directed to the particular errors upon which appellant relies. Our consideration of the appeal will be limited to the assignments which are definite enough to advise us of the appellant's claim; and these relate to the question of the sufficiency of the evidence to warrant the verdict.
III. The evidence showed that Boeck was found dead in his room at a boarding house at Independence under circumstances which will appear in the further discussion of one branch of the case. A coroner's jury was impaneled to inquire into the cause of death, and a verdict or finding was returned that death resulted “from heart failure, contributory excessive indulgence in liquor.” Proofs of loss were duly made; that by Dr. McGrady stating that in his judgment the probable cause of death was heart disease, induced by excessive use of alcohol. There was testimony tending to show that at times prior to making the application for membership Boeck had been intoxicated, and also that he was given to drink more frequently and in larger quantities than stated in his application. As to this question there was dispute in the evidence, and the whole record was such as to require it to be submitted to the jury, unless for other reasons the appellant was on his motion entitled to a directed verdict. In such motion the appellant relied alone upon the alleged fact that death resulted indirectly from the use of intoxicating liquors, and we direct our inquiry to that single question.
[2] IV. The appellant is a fraternal benefit society, and as such makes provision for the payment to its members under certain conditions. By his application and its acceptance Boeck became a member of the society, and by such, and the certificate, he became bound by the provisions of its by-laws. Norton v. Order of Foresters (Catholic) 138 Iowa, 464, 114 N. W. 893, 24 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1030.
The section of the by-laws relied upon by the appellant is as follows: “Prohibition against Intemperance.--If any member of this society, heretofore or hereafter adopted, shall become intemperate in the use of intoxicating liquors, or in the use of drugs or narcotics, or if his death shall result directly or indirectly from his use of intoxicating liquors, drugs, or narcotics, then the certificate held by said member shall by such acts become and be absolutely null and void, and all payments made thereon shall be thereby forfeited.”
[3] By that provision Boeck and his legal representatives were and are bound. We therefore go to the evidence upon the question raised by this plea of the appellant to determine whether it was of such strength as to make it the duty of the trial court to hold that, as a matter of law, such defense had been established. As bearing upon this it is not necessary that inquiry be limited to the immediate time of death, when death is charged to have resulted indirectly from the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, as previous habits and tendencies may and often do throw...
To continue reading
Request your trial