Hanson v. Minn. Scandinavian Relief Ass'n

• Decision Date: 16 November 1894
• Citation: 59 Minn. 123,60 N.W. 1091
• Parties: HANSON v. MINNESOTA SCANDINAVIAN RELIEF ASS'N ET AL. (TWO CASES).
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

59 Minn. 123

60 N.W. 1091

HANSON

v.MINNESOTA SCANDINAVIAN RELIEF ASS'N ET AL. (TWO CASES).

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Nov. 16, 1894.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

The by-laws of a mutual benefit society, whose expressed object was “to aid and assist the widows and orphans of deceased members,” provided that every applicant for membership should designate in his application the person or persons to whom, in the event of his death, the benefit should be paid; also, that any member might change his beneficiary by sending to the secretary a written application acknowledged before a notary, and surrendering his certificate; that, if such change was approved by the board of managers, the secretary should issue him a new certificate; and that no change of beneficiaries should be made in any other way. The by-laws also provided that the benefit should be paid to such person or persons as the deceased member may have designated, as the same shall appear on the books of the association, and, if no designation had been made, then to his legal heirs or devisees. A certificate of membership was issued to the deceased without his having designated any beneficiary. Subsequently, he went to the office of the association, and verbally designated to the secretary four of his children as beneficiaries, and requested the secretary to make or enter such designation. Thereupon the secretary, in his presence, entered or recorded, in the book of the association kept for that purpose, the names of the four children as the beneficiaries, and assured the member that this was all that was necessary to be done. This entry remained in the records of the association, without objections, until the death of the member, six years afterwards. In a controversy between the four children and the other heirs of the deceased as to who were entitled to the benefit, held:

1. That a widow is an “heir,” within the meaning of the by-laws.

2. That the act of the member was an “original designation,” as distinguished from a “change,” of beneficiaries, within the meaning of the by-laws.

3. That the requirement of the by-laws that the designation of beneficiaries shall be made in the application for membership is a mere formality, designed for the protection of the association, and may be waived by it; and if it has done so, and accepted something else as a sufficient designation, the heirs, who have no vested right in the benefit during the life of the member, cannot be heard to object.

4. That, if any approval of the designation by the board of managers was necessary, their approval must be presumed from the fact that the designation remained so long in the records of the association without objection. No formal vote was necessary.

Appeal from district court, Goodhue county; W. C. Williston, Judge.

Action by Magdelana Hanson against the Minnesota Scandinavian Relief Association, Violet Hanson, and others, on a certificate of membership issued to Olaf Hanson, deceased. Defendants other than the association are heirs of decedent, and were made parties that their interest, if any, in the amount recovered, could be apportioned to them. There was judgment against defendant association for the amount of the certificate to be distributed among certain of defendants as the beneficiaries designated by decedent. Plaintiff and defendant Violet Hanson each moved for a new trial, and appeal separately from a denial thereof. Affirmed.

Welch & Welch, for plaintiff.

F. M. Wilson, for defendant Minnesota Scandinavian Relief Ass'n.

J. N. True and S. J. Nelson, for defendant Violet Hanson.

C. A. Fosnes and True & Neal, for other defendants.

MITCHELL, J.

The respondent association is a corporation of a class, now very common, by means of which persons of moderate means may, by payment of small stated assessments, make provision for their families in case of death. While possessing some of the features of ordinary life insurance, it is in fact a mutual aid society. Its expressed object is “aiding and assisting the widows and orphans of deceased members.” Its by-laws provide that: “Every applicant for membership shall designate in his or her application the person or persons to whom, in the event of his or her death, the benefit shall be paid. Any members in good standing may change his or her beneficiary or beneficiaries by sending a written application, duly acknowledged before a notary public, to the secretary, and by surrendering his or her certificate, and paying a fee of one dollar. In case such change is approved by the board of managers, the secretary shall issue a new certificate to such members, and no change of beneficiary shall be made in any other way than herein provided.” “Benefits shall be payable at the city of Red Wing, Minnesota, and shall be paid as follows: (1) To such person or persons as the deceased may have designated to receive the same, as...