Henkel v. METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
| Decision Date | 30 September 1955 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 258. |
| Citation | 134 F. Supp. 687 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina |
| Parties | Peggy Joyce HENKEL v. METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. |
Womble, Carlyle, Martin & Sandridge, Winston Salem, N. C., for defendant.
This action was instituted by plaintiff on December 28, 1953 to recover under the terms of a policy of life insurance issued by the defendant on the life of her late husband, Orange G. Henkel, Jr. Originally it was filed in the Superior Court of Catawba County, North Carolina, but on the grounds of diversity and amount was removed to this court. 28 U.S.C.A. § 1332.
Plaintiff, Peggy Joyce Henkel, wife of the insured, was named beneficiary in that certain policy of insurance, No. 19387602, issued on the first day of October, 1952, on the life of her husband, in the principal sum of $5,024.00. In consideration of an extra monthly premium the policy carried an Accidental Means Death Benefit in the following words:
"Accidental Means Death Benefit — The Company promises to pay to the Beneficiary under this Policy, in addition to the amount otherwise payable according to the terms of this Policy, an additional sum equal to the Initial Amount of Insurance shown on page 1, upon receipt at the Home Office of due proof of the death of the Insured, while this provision is in effect, as the result, directly and independently of all other causes, of bodily injuries caused solely by external, violent, and accidental means, and that such death shall not have occurred (a) more than 90 days after the date of such injuries, or (b) as the result of or by the contribution of disease or bodily or mental infirmity or medical or surgical treatment therefor or infection of any nature unless such infection is incurred through an external visible wound sustained through violent and accidental means, or (c) as the result of self-destruction, whether sane or insane, or (d) as the result of travel or flight on any species of aircraft if the Insured has any duties relating to such aircraft or flight, or is flying in the course of any aviation training or instruction, or any training or maneuvers of any armed forces, or (e) as a result of participating in or attempting to commit an assault, or (f) as a result of an act of war."
That at the time of his death on September 19, 1953, said policy of insurance was in full force and effect, and subsequently the defendant paid to the plaintiff, beneficiary, the face amount of the policy in the sum of $5,024. This controversy centers around the Accidental Means Death Benefit and such amount thereof is that sought in this particular action.
The manner of his death as is shown from the evidence and the factors surrounding it, are found to have come about as follows:
The insured, Orange G. Henkel, Jr., was a young man 25 years of age, of fine physique, approximately six feet tall and weighing about 165 pounds, and plaintiff, beneficiary, in this action, was his wife. They lived in Hickory in Catawba County, North Carolina. The insured, for a year or more prior to his death, was employed by the Eastern Finance Company, an institution having one of its places of business in Greenwood, South Carolina, with headquarters located on Waller Avenue in that city. Formerly he worked for the same company in his home town of Hickory as assistant manager, and was working for it at the time the policy herein sued on was delivered to him. He and his family had not moved their place of residence and his wife, the beneficiary, continued to reside in Hickory since he had gone to South Carolina to accept this employment only about two months before his death. The case was heard by the court without a jury, and from the evidence offered at the trial, the facts arising from his death took place in this sort of way:
Two police officers of the City of Greenwood by the names of Hollingsworth and Hunter, in consequence of some sort of telephone conversation, went to a residence occupied by a Mr. and Mrs. Gunter on Durst Street Extension in said city, and on learning of some supposed complaint from this couple, agreed on a plan to apprehend said person supposedly attempting to molest Mrs. Gunter. Thereupon one of the officers drove the patrol car with Gunter accompanying him and with the other officer riding in the back seat of the Gunter car while it was being driven by Mrs. Gunter enroute to the place of business known as Cooper's Furniture Store, located on the corner of Waller Street and Seaboard Avenue in said city. Shortly thereafter it would appear one of the officers heard a door close and a car door slam, — then a motor started and thereafter noticed a car proceeding toward the furniture store, along Waller Street. This noise evidently came from the general direction of the place of business on Waller Street where the insured was employed, located two blocks south of Seaboard Avenue and where likely he had just previously been. The time was about twelve-forty (12:40) in the morning. The car driven by the insured apparently stopped or slowed down at the corner of Seaboard and Waller, and the officer testified that in his opinion the occupant of the car said something to Mrs. Gunter, who evidently had gotten out of the car. Immediately following it would seem that Mrs. Gunter came to her car, which evidently she had left for the time being, and in...
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Schwartz v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co.
...resulting from driving recklessly at high speeds. In Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Henkel, 234 F.2d 69 (4 Cir.1956), affirming 134 F.Supp. 687 (D.C.N.C.1955), the court allowed recovery where the insured was fleeing from the police recklessly at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour. The in......
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