Lakka v. Modern Brotherhood
| Decision Date | 23 October 1913 |
| Citation | 143 N.W. 513,163 Iowa 159 |
| Parties | SABIE LAKKA, as Guardian, etc., Appellee, v. MODERN BROTHERHOOD OF AMERICA, Appellant |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Appeal from Mahaska District Court.--HON. BYRON W. PRESTON, Judge.
ACTION by the plaintiff, as guardian of minor beneficiaries, to recover the sum of $ 1,000 on a benefit certificate issued by the defendant to O. C. Lakka. Lakka died shortly thereafter. The plaintiff is his widow and her wards are his children. The benefit certificate is regular in form. It was delivered to the deceased on September 30, 1911. He died suddenly on October 8, 1911, from a blood clot in the heart. The defendant interposed three defenses, viz.: (1) That the deceased was not a member of the defendant order and that the benefit certificate sued on had never become effective for that reason. (2) That certain representations of the deceased as to his previous state of health were false and constituted a breach of warranty. (3) That certain representations of the deceased as to his habits in relation to the use of intoxicating liquors were false and constituted a breach of warranty. At the close of the evidence the plaintiff moved for a directed verdict, and her motion was sustained. Judgment being entered upon verdict for plaintiff, the defendant has appealed. Affirmed.
Affirmed.
C. C Dowell and W. H. Keating, for appellant.
Dan Davis and McCoy & McCoy, for appellees.
The first issue discussed by appellant is the first above stated. Was the certificate invalidated for want of certain formalities in initiating the deceased into membership of the local lodge? The certificate purported to be issued to the deceased as a member of the local lodge at Oskaloosa known as No. 908.
It appears that a state deputy, Mrs. Frank, had been sent to Oskaloosa to revive and reorganize the local lodge and she spent some weeks in such work. More than forty new members were secured as the fruit of her work, of which Lakka was one. The duty of a deputy is not very clearly set forth in the by-laws of the defendant. Our attention is especially directed to the following sections of such by-laws:
Sec. 237. Supreme President, Shall Appoint and Remove. The Supreme President shall have authority to appoint and remove deputies and prescribe rules for their government, and the board of directors shall establish their compensation.
Sec. 239. Authority to Organize Lodges, Where. Deputies shall have authority to organize subordinate lodges within their respective territory, and to perform such other duties as may be required of them by the Supreme President. They shall not organize new lodges unless fifteen applicants for beneficial membership who have complied with these by-laws and who are acceptable in every respect petition for charter.
Sec. 242. Secretary Shall Report Applicants Initiated. The local secretary shall certify to the Supreme Secretary on blanks furnished for that purpose the names and numbers of applicants initiated by the deputy's solicitation and labors.
Sec. 243. May Work in Lodges with less than Fifteen Members, When. When a lodge has less than fifteen beneficial members a deputy may be authorized by the Supreme President to visit the same and solicit members therefor on the same terms as though no lodge existed at the place in question, for a period not to exceed thirty days, and this may be done without any resolution on the part of said lodge, or without any agreement with any of its officers: Provided, further, that the Supreme President may, when in his judgment such a course is necessary, authorize any deputy to work for an old lodge and may make such terms with him as to his compensation as he sees fit, and the lodge cannot question any arrangement so made nor can the lodge in such case claim any part of the membership fee.
Section 134 of such by-laws is as follows:
Sec. 134. Benefit Certificate Takes Effect, When. The liability of this society for the payment of benefits upon the death or injury of a benefit member, shall not begin until all the acts, qualifications and requirements prescribed for the applicant in all the laws, rules and regulations and ritual of the society shall have been fully complied with by him, and until all acts therein prescribed for the subordinate lodge shall have been fully complied with by it and until his application shall have been fully approved by a subordinate lodge physician and Supreme Physician, and a benefit certificate issued as provided in these by-laws, and delivered to applicant while in good health, nor until said applicant shall have been adopted, initiated and obligated by the proper subordinate lodge.
Mrs. Frank took from Lakka on September 26, 1911, an application for membership in the order and for insurance. On the same day the lodge physician examined the applicant and approved the application. On September 27th the Supreme Lodge physician did likewise. The application with the approval of both physicians was sent to the Supreme President and Secretary, and these issued the benefit certificate thereon on September 29th and sent the same to the President and Secretary of the local lodge at Oskaloosa, who countersigned the same. On September 30th it was presented to Lakka, who accepted the same and signed the obligation thereof as a member. Some brief ritualistic form was performed by Mrs. Frank, and the benefit certificate was on the same day delivered to Lakka. On the same day record was made on the books of the local lodge showing the adoption of Lakka into membership on said day. Lodge dues of 20 cents and a current assessment of 75 cents and a membership fee of $ 3 were then and there collected from Lakka by Mrs. Frank and the officers of the local lodge.
The benefit certificate came to the local lodge from the Supreme Officers, with the following instructions attached:
The defense is predicated at this point upon the claim that there was some failure or defect in the ritualistic forms attending the initiation of Lakka, and that he was not initiated according to the forms required by the by-laws of the association, and that he was not initiated in so-called open lodge. The contention is that these defects rendered all other proceedings nugatory and that Lakka therefore never became a member. To accede to this contention would be to permit the extensive ritualistic forms of the defendant to become the ready means of actual fraud upon prospective members, accepting solicitations to membership extended to them by appropriate officers, and paying to such officers the appropriate fees upon assurances of their complete adoption as members. Not only did the local lodge show upon its records September 30, 1911, the complete adoption of Lakka into membership but such lodge by its officers after the death certified to his membership and to his good standing. It is urged, however, that the local lodge exceeded its authority. It will be noted, however, that the acts of Mrs. Frank, the deputy, and of the officers of the local lodge were in strict accord with the written instructions attached to the benefit certificate by the Supreme Officers. The certificate was issued at Mason City September 29th. The instructions from the Supreme Officers required that it should be put in force not later than September 30th and that the method of such putting in force be, "Being adopted, obligated or initiated." Concededly Lakka accepted and adopted the certificate and obligated himself to membership by his own signature thereon. The only question raised is: Was he properly initiated? By the alternative form of the above requirements, formal initiation was not required at all if the certificate was otherwise adopted or obligated.
In the absence of fraud, we think that the conduct of the lodge officers and the record made by them should be deemed conclusive on the question of completed membership regardless of mere defect of form in the proceedings leading up to such membership. The substance of every requirement of the by-law was complied with. The applicant understood that he was becoming a member of the order. His application was passed upon by the physician and appropriate officers of the order and was approved by them. They understood that he was becoming a member. Both the applicant and the officers understood on September 30th that by the proceedings of that day he had become a full member. In such belief the fees and dues were collected from the applicant and have been retained ever since. To open up now the ritualistic proceedings to an investigation of their regularity would be shocking to the judicial sense. We think, therefore, as already indicated, that upon the facts shown it should be conclusively presumed that all preliminary requirements were substantially complied with or were waived. That such provisions could be deemed waived in an appropriate case has been settled by our previous holdings: Warnebold v. Grand Lodge, 83 Iowa 23, 48 N.W. 1069; Moore v. Order of Railway Conductors, 90 Iowa 721, 57 N.W. 623; Watts v. Equitable M. L. Ass'n, 111 Iowa 90; Thornburg v. Life Association, 122 Iowa 260, 98 N.W. 105; Trotter v. Grand Lodge, 132 Iowa 513, 109 N.W. 1099; Krause v. Modern Woodmen, 133 Iowa 199, 110 N.W. 452; Collver v. Modern Woodmen, 154 Iowa 615, 135 N.W. 67. To the same effect are the following cases from other jurisdictions: ...
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