Dunn v. Detroit Fed. of Musicians, Local No. 5, Am. Fed. of Musicians

Decision Date11 December 1934
Docket NumberNo. 127.,127.
PartiesDUNN v. DETROIT FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS, LOCAL NO. 5, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS.
CourtMichigan Supreme Court

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeal from Circuit Court, Wayne County; Robert M. Toms, Judge.

Action by Lawrence K. Dunn against the Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local No. 5, American Federation of Musicians, a voluntary musical and fraternal association. From the judgment, the plaintiff appeals.

Reversed and remanded, with instructions.

Argued before the Entire Bench.

WIEST and EDWARD M. SHARPE, JJ., dissenting.Schmalzriedt, Frye, Granse & Frye and Thomas J. Drouillard, all of Detroit, for appellant.

Meurer & Meurer and Freedman & Drexelius, all of Detroit, for appellee.

BUTZEL, Justice.

On April 27, 1919, Alfred D. Dunn, a Detroit musician, became a member of Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local No. 5, American Federation, a voluntary musical and fraternal association, the defendant herein. In 1928 Dunn moved to Colorado, but kept up his membership in defendant, which also insured its members. At the time of Dunn's death, it paid a $1,200 death benefit to the beneficiary designated by the member. Each time a death occurred, an assessment was levied on the surviving members.

Dunn paid his dues and assessments throughout the 13 years of his membership. including the first quarter of 1932. The dues for the second quarter were unpaid at the time of his death, May 26, 1932. They were paid within a day or two thereafter by Joe Dunn, a brother of Lawrence K. Dunn, plaintiff herein and beneficiary of the death benefit. Defendant did not know who paid the dues until the time of the trial of the instant suit. It kept them, and made no offer either at the trial or prior thereto to return them to any one. They were paid for the quarter in which Alfred Dunn's death occurred. Defendant based its refusal to pay on the ground that Dunn's dues were not paid for the quarter in which his death occurred.

Defendant issued no policy or certificate of insurance to its members. The insurance is provided for in the by-laws. Article 18, section 1, of the by-laws, provides: ‘Upon the death of a member of this Local whose dues are paid for the quarter in which the death occurs, the Secretary-Treasurer shall, after having ascertained the facts of the death, draw a warrant upon the treasury for the sum of $1,500,’ etc.

This amount was subsequently changed by resolution to $1,200.

Article 3, section 7, of the by-laws, provides: ‘The dues become payable on the first day of January, April, July and October and shall be $2.00 per quarter, if paid before the expiration of the current quarter. If not paid before the expiration of the current quarter, they shall be $2.50 per quarter. If not paid before the expiration of the second quarter, the member, after due notice, shall stand expelled.’

The trial judge, who heard the case without a jury, held that, inasmuch as Alfred Dunn's dues were not paid until after his death, plaintiff was not entitled to recover. Plaintiff appeals, claiming that the dues were paid for the quarter in which Dunn died, as provided by article 18, section 1, but, even if there were any doubt as to the meaning of this section, article 3, section 7, gives additional time in which to pay dues, and in case of nonpayment provides for expulsion only after due notice.

Under objection, defendant's records were introduced to show that, in other cases, payment of insurance was refused because the dues for the quarter in which the member died were not paid prior to his death. Defendant also introduced copies of bulletins mailed to its members warning them against losing their insurance in this manner; also an article in one of the bulletins in which the editor explained the operation of the death benefit by-law, and stated that, in order to be in good standing so that the insurance would be in force, the dues for the current quarter in which the death occurred must have been paid prior to the death of the member. The court is not bound to follow the construction placed upon a by-law of the organization by its officers. Morey v. Monk, 142 Ala. 175, 38 So. 265;Manson v. Grand Lodge, 30 Minn. 509, 16 N. W. 395;Davidson v. Supreme Lodge, Knights of Pythias, 22 Mo. App. 263. Were the rule otherwise, payment might be refused upon the most frivolous and unjust grounds, and a precedent thus established to defeat valid claims.

Where there is no certificate of insurance, the constitution and by-laws constitute the entire contract between the members and the association. Badesch v. Congregation Brothers of Willna, 23 Misc. 160, 50 N. Y. S. 958;Honea v. American Council, No. 27, 139 Tenn. 21, 201 S. W. 127. The actual agreement must be ascertained from the entire instrument, taking into consideration each and every clause. Thomson Electric Welding Co. v. Peerless Wire Fence Co., 190 Mich. 496, 157 N. W. 67.

Defendant shows that members have other benefits and advantages and that the insurance feature is incidental and not the main purpose of the defendant. The by-laws provide that persons joining the organization shall not participate in the death benefit fund until they have been members in good standing for six months or longer; that any person becoming a member of the organization after April 1, 1921, who is fifty years of age or over, shall not be eligible to participate in the benefits of the fund. Members who are reinstated after one year from the date of expulsion shall not participate in the death benefit fund until six months after date of reinstatement, provided they are not fifty years or over at the time of reinstatement.

Courts may not ignore the direct provisions of the constitution and...

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7 cases
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    ...41, 297 N.W. 64 (1941); Ginsberg v. Reliable Linen Service Co., 292 Mich. 70, 290 N.W. 331 (1940); Dunn v. Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local No. 5, 268 Mich. 698, 256 N.W. 581 (1934); Harrington v. Interstate Business Men's Accident Association, 210 Mich. 327, 178 N.W. 19 (1920).13 Fir......
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    ...of whether the commodity is listed in the declarations. Carey's Opp to Adriatic MSJ at 9. Carey cites Dunn v. Detroit Fed'n of Musicians, 268 Mich. 698, 256 N.W. 581 (1934) for the proposition that "[i]f clauses in the are inconsistent with clauses in the policy of insurance or exclusions r......
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    ... ... local council of the Security Benefit Association, ... Co. , 96 Vt ... 19, 116 A. 119; Dunn v. Detroit Federation of ... Musicians , ... ...
  • Itrich v. Huron Cement Div. Of Nat. Gypsum Co.
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    ...240 (E.D.Mich.1980); Attorney Gen'l v. Mich. Guaranty Ass'n, 80 Mich.App. 653, 263 N.W.2d 918 (1978) and Dunn v. Federation of Musicians, 268 Mich. 698, 265 N.W. 581 (1934) each pertain to a different type of insurance and, thus, are irrelevant. McMurray v. Prudential Property & Casualty In......
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