Equitable Life Assur. Soc. of U.S. v. Hollingsworth
| Decision Date | 13 April 1961 |
| Docket Number | No. 2,No. 38643,38643,2 |
| Citation | 119 S.E.2d 725,103 Ga.App. 505 |
| Parties | EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF UNITED STATES v. Mary A. HOLLINGSWORTH |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Lloyd T. Whitaker, Alston, Sibley, Miller, Spann & Shackelford, Daniel B. Hodgson, Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.
Ernest Bostick, Smyrna, Hewlett, Hewlett & Wall, Atlanta, for defendant in error.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
A stipulation in an insurance policy that, in order to entitle the beneficiary to recover thereunder, notice of death and proof of loss must be furnished the insurer at its home office within a certain specified time is valid and compliance therewith is a condition precedent to the enforcement of the policy. Hulme v. Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Ass'n, 60 Ga.App. 65, 2 S.E.2d 750. Where the plaintiff's right to recover on an insurance contract depends upon a condition precedent to be performed by him, the failure of his petition to allege the performance of such condition precedent, or allege a sufficient legal excuse for its nonperformance, renders said petition subject to general demurrer. Delta Ins. Co. v. Wood, 99 Ga.App. 58, 107 S.E.2d 693. Thus, in an action on an insurance contract requiring the furnishing of notice of death within 20 days and proof of loss within 90 days of the death of the insured from accidental means to the home office of the insurer, the plaintiff in his petition must allege facts showing a compliance with such conditions or a legal excuse for failure to comply therewith in order to state a cause of action. It is not necessary, however, to show that the plaintiff personally transmitted said notice and proof to the insurer so long as the requisite notice and proof is alleged to have been given to the insurer. Nor is it necessary to set forth in the petition details of the notice and proof furnished the insurer, since such are evidential. Union Central Life Ins. Co. v. Trundle, 61 Ga.App. 110(1), 5 S.E.2d 675. Accordingly, since it is alleged in the instant petition as amended that the plaintiff's decedent accidentally fell from a hotel window on March 22, 1958, sustaining bodily injuries that resulted in his death one-half hour later and that such injuries were caused by external, violent and accidental means exclusive of all other causes within the meaning of the contract of insurance; that notice of the insured's death was executed by his employer on a form furnished by the insurer for...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Crumbliss v. Nw. Mut. Life Ins. Co.
...are valid condition precedents to the enforcement of the policy.") (citing Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y of U.S. v. Hollingsworth , 103 Ga. App. 505, 119 S.E.2d 725 (1961) ; Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. Jackson , 79 Ga. App. 263, 265–66, 53 S.E.2d 378 (1949) ; Richmond v. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. ......
-
Debord v. Proples Ben. Life Ins. Co.
...a beneficiary may recover are valid condition precedents to the enforcement of the policy. Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y of U.S. v. Hollingsworth, 103 Ga.App. 505, 505, 119 S.E.2d 725, 726 (1961); see also Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. Jackson, 79 Ga.App. 263, 265-66, 53 S.E.2d 378, 380 (1949) (......
-
Reserve Ins. Co. v. Campbell
...said petition subject to general demurrer. Delta Ins. Co. v. Wood, 99 Ga.App. 58, 107 S.E.2d 693.' Equitable Life Assurance Society v. Hollingsworth, 103 Ga.App. 505, 119 S.E.2d 725; Harris v. Towns, 106 Ga.App. 217(3), 126 S.E.2d 718. 3 Since there is no allegation that any proof of loss w......
-
South Carolina Ins. Co. v. Hunnicutt, 39850
...said petition subject to general demurrer. Delta Ins. Co. v. Wood, 99 Ga.App. 58, 107 S.E.2d 693.' Equitable Life Assurance Society v. Hollingsworth, 103 Ga.App. 505, 119 S.E.2d 725; Harris v. Towns, 106 Ga.App. 217(3), 126 S.E.2d 718; Reserve Insurance Company v. Campbell, 107 Ga.App. 311,......