Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. O'Donnell

• Decision Date: 23 October 1917
• Parties: METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, a corporation of the State of New York, GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of MARY C. MCGOVERN, deceased, and GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of ISAAC J. GILKEY, deceased, Defendants below, Appellants, v. ELIZABETH A. O'DONNELL, Complainant below, Appellee. (Appeal.) ELIZABETH A. O'DONNELL, Complainant below, Appellant, v. METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, a corporation of the State of New York, GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of MARY C. MCGOVERN, deceased, and GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of Isaac J. Gilkey, deceased, Defendants below, Appellees. (Cross Appeal.)
• Court: Court of Chancery of Delaware

102 A. 163

11 Del.Ch. 404

METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, a corporation of the State of New York, GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of MARY C. MCGOVERN, deceased, and GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of ISAAC J. GILKEY, deceased, Defendants below, Appellants, v. ELIZABETH A. O'DONNELL, Complainant below, Appellee. (Appeal.)

ELIZABETH A. O'DONNELL, Complainant below, Appellant, v. METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, a corporation of the State of New York, GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of MARY C. MCGOVERN, deceased, and GEORGE H. MCGOVERN, Administrator of Isaac J. Gilkey, deceased, Defendants below, Appellees. (Cross Appeal.)

Court of Chancery of Delaware

October 23, 1917

STATEMENT OF THE CASE. The Chancellor found for Elizabeth A O'Donnell as to the policy issued by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and for George H. McGovern administrator of Mary C. McGovern, deceased, as to the policy, issued by the Economic Insurance Company of America. The respondents below appealed and the complainant below filed a cross-appeal.

The terms of the decree entered by the Chancellor are shown by the several assignments of error. The appellants, respondents below, say:

That the Chancellor erred in that he ordered, adjudged and decreed (1) that the said George H. McGovern, administrator of Mary C. McGovern, should within thirty days, pay to the said Elizabeth A. O'Donnell, or to Henry R. Isaacs, Esquire her solicitor, the sum of ninety-six dollars, being the amount due under policy No. 25783032, issued as aforesaid by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; (2) that the costs of this cause taxed at the sum of one hundred and seventy dollars and thirty-nine cents should be paid by the said George H. McGovern, within sixty days, or attachment; (3) that he erred in that he did not decree that the bill of complaint, filed in the above entitled cause, by the said Elizabeth O'Donnell, be dismissed; and (4) in that he found that the said Isaac J. Gilkey did have the right to change the beneficiary named in policy No. 25783032, issued by the said Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, on the life of the said Isaac J. Gilkey, and that the attempt of the said Isaac J. Gilkey to so change and make the complainant Elizabeth A. O'Donnell, beneficiary under said policy, was frustrated by the conduct and claims of the said George H. McGovern.

The cross-appellant, complainant below, says:

That the Chancellor erred in finding (1) that the beneficiary named in the policy of insurance, No. 8350H, issued by "the Economic Insurance Company of America," on the life of Isaac J. Gilkey, took a vested interest in the same; (2) that payment to George H. McGovern of the money due and payable upon said policy No. 8350H issued by "the Economic Insurance Company of America" was a valid discharge of the liability of "Metropolitan Life Insurance Company" which said company subsequent to the issuance of said policy had assumed all the obligations thereof; (3) that it was immaterial as far as concerned the rights of Elizabeth A. O'Donnell, complainant below, appellant, in what capacity the said George H. McGovern received the money due and payable under said policy of insurance, whether as administrator of the insured, as administrator of the beneficiary, or as a connection by marriage of the insured; (4) that the said Elizabeth A. O'Donnell, complainant below, appellant, was not entitled to any relief in the Court of Chancery based on the rights claimed by her under the said policy issued by "the Economic Insurance Company of America"; (5) that the said Elizabeth A. O'Donnell, complainant below, appellant, was not entitled to payment from either of the respondents of the amount due on said policy; and (6) in not ordering, adjudging and decreeing that the said George H. McGovern, administrator of Mary C. McGovern, should pay to the said Elizabeth A. O'Donnell complainant below, appellant, the amount due under said policy of insurance No. 8350H, issued by "the Economic Insurance Company of America"

(See ante p. 4, for report of case below.)

Decree of the Chancellor affirmed.

John R. Nicholson, for appellants and cross appellees.

Henry R. Isaacs, for the appellee and cross appellant.

Argued before PENNEWILL, C. J., and BOYCE, CONRAD and RICE, J. J.

OPINION

BOYCE, J., after stating the case, delivering the opinion of the court:

The appeal and cross-appeal bring before this court the same questions which were before the Chancellor.

The purpose of the bill was to determine the rights between Elizabeth A. O'Donnell, the complainant, and George H. McGovern, administrator of Mary C. McGovern, deceased, one of the respondents, to the proceeds of the two policies in question, and to enforce payment thereof to the complainant.

Gilkey, the insured, made applications on forms of the company to change the beneficiary named in the policies, so as to make them payable to the complainant, and not to the estate of his deceased daughter; and not having the policies in his possession, he also made application on proper forms of the company to have duplicate policies issued, declaring in writing over his signature upon the forms that the policies were lost, and he paid the agent the usual cost for the duplicates. It is admitted that the applications were received at the local office of the company to be forwarded to the home office; but that this was not done, because very shortly thereafter the original policies were presented to the local office by McGovern, and for that reason the duplicates were not issued, and no change was made in the beneficiary named in the policies. McGovern admits that he did apprise the home office as well as the local office of the company that the policies were not lost but were rightfully in his possession as administrator of Mary C. Gilkey, deceased. He also admits that he made tender of payment of the premiums on the policies a number of times as administrator of Mary C. Gilkey, deceased.

The principal question involved is what was the effect of Gilkey's applications, for the issuance to him of new policies, and for a substitution of Mrs. O'Donnell as his beneficiary; that is, whether his acts in connection with the acts of McGovern constituted an equitable change of beneficiary as such to entitle the complainant to the proceeds of the policies.

First, on a question of pleading:

The solicitor for the appellant contended with earnestness and learning that the allegations of the bill referred to the condition of things, at the time the bill was filed and that the prayers for relief must be considered strictly with relation to the case as made by the bill and not the case made by the defense.

It was claimed that the bill alleges that the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, one of the respondents, refused to make payment to either of the claimants and that the policies in dispute were in the possession of the respondent McGovern;...