Kwiatkowski v. Bhd. of American Yeomen
| Decision Date | 19 October 1926 |
| Citation | 243 N.Y. 394,153 N.E. 847 |
| Parties | KWIATKOWSKI et al. v. BROTHERHOOD OF AMERICAN YEOMEN. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Action by Cecelia Kwiatkowski and another against the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Judgment for plaintiffs was affirmed by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (216 App. Div. 647, 216 N. Y. S. 102), and defendant appeals.
Reversed, and complaint dismissed.
Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth department.
John H. Clogston, of Buffalo, for appellant.
Percy S. Lansdowne, of Buffalo, and Robert J. Lansdowne, of Buffalo, for respondent.
The plaintiffs herein are the beneficiaries named in the certificate of membership issued by this defendant to Julianna Boldt, the mother of the plaintiff, Cecelia Kwiatkowski. Under the terms of the certificate the defendant agreed to pay to the beneficiaries the sum of $5,000 upon the death of Mrs. Boldt. The certificate was delivered to Mrs. Boldt. In accordance with section 232 of the Insurance Law (Cons. Laws, c. 28), the certificate provided that:
The ‘charter or articles of incorporation, the by-laws of the association, and the application for membership, and the medical examination, signed by the applicant, with all amendments to each thereof, shall constitute the agreement between the association and the member.’
Annexed to the certificate at the time of its delivery and forming a part thereof was a photostatic copy of the application for membership containing questions and answers. This was signed by Mrs. Boldt with her mark, and contains a provision:
‘I further agree that the statements and answers made herein, the pen or photographic copy of which being attached to my certificate, shall be held to be my statements, and I agree that any untrue answer to any question * * * shall immediately, whether material to this risk or otherwise, * * * render the certificate issued null and void.’
It is undisputed that the answer to one of the questions, as set forth in this written statement, is untrue.
The applicant made a contract with the defendant. That contract is in writing. By its express terms the answers contained in the photostatic copy of her application were to be regarded as her statements, and she agreed that there should be no recovery if such statements were false. The plaintiffs, in spite of this clause in the contract, have been permitted to introduce evidence to show that the applicant could not read or write English, that the...
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Antonia Pellon v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (Two Cases)
... ... decisions of the New York Court of Appeals, including ... Kwiatkowski v. Brotherhood of American ... Yeomen , 243 N.Y. 394, 153 N.E. 847; ... ...
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Pellon v. Conn. Gen. Life Ins. Co.
...defendant cites, among other cases, several recent decisions of the New York Court of Appeals, including Kwiatkowski v. Brotherhood of American Yeomen, 243 N. Y. 394, 153 N. E. 847; Satz v. Mass. Bonding & Ins. Co., 243 N. Y. 385, 153 N. E. 844, 59 A. L. R. 606; Stanulevich v. St. Lawrence ......
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Adamos v. New York Life Ins. Co., 7424.
... ... St. Lawrence Life Ass'n, 228 N.Y. 586, 127 N.E. 315; Kwiatkowski v. Brotherhood of American Yeomen, 243 N.Y. 394, 153 N.E. 847; Erickson v ... ...
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Kukuruza v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co.
...323. See, also, Lumber Underwriters of New York v. Rife, 237 U. S. 605, 609, 35 S. Ct. 717, 59 L. Ed. 1140;Kwiatkowski v. Brotherhood of American Yeomen, 243 N. Y. 394, 153 N. E. 847. Compare, however, Vance on Insurance (2d Ed.) pages 497-514. Nor would acceptance of premiums by the defend......