Mathieu v. Mathieu

• Decision Date: 25 February 1910
• Citation: 77 A. 112,112 Md. 625
• Parties: MATHIEU v. MATHIEU.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

77 A. 112

112 Md. 625

MATHIEU v. MATHIEU.

Court of Appeals of Maryland

February 25, 1910

Appeal from Circuit Court of Baltimore City; Martin Lehmayer, Judge.

Interpleader suit by the order of the Knights of Columbus against Mary A Mathieu and against Elizabeth D. Mathieu. From a judgment for Elizabeth D. Mathieu, Mary A. Mathieu appeals. Affirmed.

Argued before BOYD, C.J., and BRISCOE, PEARCE, SCHMUCKER, BURKE THOMAS, PATTISON, and URNER, JJ.

T Howard Embert, William Milnes Maloy, and George M. Brady, for appellant.

J Royall Tippett and Richard B. Tippett, for appellee.

SCHMUCKER J.

This is an appeal from a final decree of circuit court No.2 of Baltimore City, in an interpleader case, disposing of the proceeds of a membership certificate in a mutual benefit association.

It appears from the record that on June 13, 1897, Harry C. Mathieu, late of Baltimore City, became a member of the order of the Knights of Columbus, which is conceded to be a mutual benefit association. In exercise of the privilege accorded to members by the by-laws of the association at that time in force, he, being then unmarried, designated his mother, Mary A. Mathieu, as his beneficiary and the usual benefit certificate was issued to him bearing her name as beneficiary. On June 14, 1899, Mathieu was married to Elizabeth Deupert, and on September 27, 1908, he died, leaving her surviving as his widow. He never changed the designation of his beneficiary, and the certificate remained in his possession until his death.

On August 9, 1907, the association, in pursuance of an amendment to its charter made June 27, 1907, by a statute of the state of Connecticut, the place of its incorporation, adopted certain new by-laws of which section 4 is as follows: "When an unmarried man or widower names or designates as his beneficiary or beneficiaries a person or persons other than his own children, or one or more of them, and subsequently marries, the subsequent marriage of such member will have the effect of rendering such designation void. But it shall be lawful for such member to redesignate the same beneficiary or beneficiaries. Should such member die without making a new designation or redesignation, then the benefit shall be paid in accordance with the classification in section 2, and in the order of precedence therein set forth."

Section 2, provided that upon the death of a member, if he had failed to designate a beneficiary or the person designated had died, or if the designation should fail "for illegality or otherwise," the benefit should be paid "to the person or persons in the following classifications and in the order of precedence as herein set forth: First, to the member's wife," second to his children, etc., etc.

Upon the death of Mathieu, the association being unable to determine whether his wife or his mother was entitled to the benefits, amounting to $1,000, due under the certificate, instituted the present interpleader suit against them and paid the money into court. The defendants having duly interpleaded and the case having come regularly to a hearing, the court below passed a decree awarding the money, less the costs of the case, to Elizabeth Deupert Mathieu, the widow of the decedent. From that decree Mary A. Mathieu, his mother, took the present appeal.

It being admitted that the designation by Mathieu of his mother as his beneficiary was valid and in accordance with the by-laws of the association when made in 1897, the single issue raised by the appeal is whether that designation was avoided by the changes which we have mentioned, subsequently made in the by-laws. There can be no doubt that he was subject to the legitimate operation of the by-laws of the association. That liability on his part was not only inherent in his relation of membership, but he specifically stipulated in signing the required application for membership, a copy of which appears in the record, to conform to and abide by the constitution, by-laws, and regulations of the association and of any council thereof of which he might at any time be a member, "which may now be in force or which may at any time hereafter be adopted by the proper authorities." He thereby consented in advance to all reasonable changes to be properly made in those laws and regulations.

The precise question which we are called upon to consider is whether sections 4 and 2 of the by-laws adopted in August 1908, had such retroactive operation as to invalidate or terminate the designation, made before their passage, of Mr. Mathieu's mother as his beneficiary, and substitute his...