Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Graves

• Decision Date: 28 October 1940
• Docket Number: 4-6063,4-6064 (consolidated)
• Citation: 143 S.W.2d 1102,201 Ark. 189
• Parties: METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND THE NATIONAL LIFE & ACCIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY v. GRAVES
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

143 S.W.2d 1102

201 Ark. 189

METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND THE NATIONAL LIFE & ACCIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY v. GRAVES

4-6063, 4-6064 (consolidated)

Supreme Court of Arkansas

October 28, 1940

Appeal from Cross Circuit Court; Neil Killough, Judge; affirmed.

Judgment affirmed.

Harry Cole Bates, Walter N. Killough, Moore, Burrow & Chowning and James Robertson, for appellants.

Giles Dearing, for appellee.

OPINION

MEHAFFY, J.

Ancel H. Graves brought suit in the Cross circuit court against the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and alleged that it was a foreign corporation engaged in writing life insurance and authorized to do business in Arkansas; that the appellant, in 1937, executed and delivered to Allen P. Graves its policy insuring his life against accidental death, for the sum of $ 2,000; that the appellee is the beneficiary named in the policy and is the widow of the said Allen P. Graves; that all the premiums were paid promptly and that on May 2, 1939 while the policy was in full force and effect and while insured was still an employee of the Lion Oil Refining Company, the said Allen P. Graves died as a result of gunshot wounds accidentally inflicted on him on said date; that his death was due solely to violent, external and accidental means; immediate notice was given to appellant of insured's death and demand made for payment, but the appellant refused to pay said claim or any part thereof; that there was due, at the time of filing the complaint, $ 2,000 with interest, 12 per cent. penalty, and a reasonable attorney's fee.

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company filed answer admitting that it was a foreign corporation engaged in writing life insurance, and that it was authorized to do business in Arkansas, and it denied each and every other material allegation.

Ancel H. Graves also brought suit in the same court against the National Life & Accident Insurance Company on two policies alleged to have been issued by the appellant, and alleged that the premiums on the policies were paid and the same were in force at the time of the death of Allen P. Graves; that proof of death was made, and appellant denied liability on the ground of suicide.

The National Life & Accident Insurance Company filed answer admitting issuing the policies, but alleging that Graves committed suicide within the two-year period, and that its liability is limited to the amount of premiums paid with 6 per cent. interest, on one policy; admitted issuing the second policy, but denied that the gunshot wound was accidentally inflicted. This appellant made tenders of what it claimed to be due.

The cases were consolidated for trial by consent, and on November 13, 1939, the jury returned a verdict for the appellee on each policy, $ 1,998.52 on one policy and $ 350 on the other policy.

There was a verdict and judgment also against the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Motions for new trial were filed in each case, which were overruled, and the cases are here on appeal.

About the only difference in the pleadings is that the National Life & Accident Insurance Company pleaded suicide as a defense, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company simply denied the allegations of the complaint. Each company defended on the ground that Graves' death was not accidental, but that he committed suicide.

In the Metropolitan case, Ancel H. Graves, the widow of Allen P Graves, testified in substance that she and Allen P. Graves were married on August 19, 1933, and that she has a little girl two years old; that Allen P. Graves died on May 2, 1939; he was agent for the Lion Oil Refining Company; had worked for this company since 1931, and had been wholesale agent since 1936; he drew a commission, and in the winter months it amounted to a little more than $ 300 per month; in the summer months it ran over $ 400; he did not own his home, but was buying it; it was nicely furnished; there never was any domestic trouble between them; he had a happy home and was devoted to appellee and the baby; at his death he was still employed by the Lion Oil Company; he had his desk and telephone in the dining room, and when orders came in he would get his trucks to make deliveries; he owned a truck and automobile; the truck was paid for, but he lacked a few payments having his car paid for; this equipment was in good condition; his books were audited about every 60 days; after his death they were audited by the auditor of the oil company; the oil dealers for the company were to be there the next day for a banquet; they had requested Mr. Graves to make arrangements for the meeting, and he had done this; on the day of the tragedy Mr. Graves got up about as usual; he was always happy and very smooth tempered; was not easily irritated; his business was prosperous; his customers satisfied with his dealings; on the morning of the tragedy Mr. Graves was making arrangements for the meeting; the last time witness saw him before the accident was about two o'clock that afternoon; he was home for lunch and again about two-thirty; he was in a happy mood and wanted to hurry and get his work all done and go on and complete his arrangements for the people he wanted to invite; he was not drinking that day; he did not stay at home all afternoon; she went to the beauty shop where his sister worked and came home about eight o'clock; she called Mr. Graves before she went home, and he answered the 'phone; when she went home she found Mr. Graves and his brother, Burley, there; Tom Baker was there, but left immediately; after Burley and Mr. Baker left Graves helped witness prepare frog legs for supper; Burley lived with his aunt in another part of town from where witness lived; Burley came back and then Everett Nix came to talk to Burley about an insurance policy; he was trying to write Burley an insurance policy; it was close to nine o'clock when he came; witness, Mr. Graves and Burley were in the kitchen; witness was getting ready to prepare supper; Burley and Nix talked about the insurance policy and Burley said he had an old insurance policy and Allen had that policy there and Everett wanted to see it; they were looking for it in the desk and could not find it; they then came back in the kitchen where witness was and Mr. Graves was helping her; witness could not say who mentioned it, but someone brought in some dice and Everett and Burley played; Graves was not in the game; he was helping her; it was just a friendly game; witness' husband would pick up the dice sometimes and throw them and then turn around and leave it; they were shooting a nickel or dime, something like that, but Nix was the winner; he gave the money that he won from Burley back to him; if either of them drank any liquor witness did not know it; her husband was not under the influence of liquor; Nix left about ten-thirty and when he left everybody was happy; witness' husband and brother-in-law were not mad or anything like it; no one was mad; Nix had not been gone more than ten minutes before the tragedy occurred; witness' husband asked Burley if he was ready to eat; after Nix went out Mr. Graves and Burley were still in the kitchen talking about the insurance, and her husband said he wanted Burley to get it because it was a good policy; he said: "Wait a minute, I will show you my policy." He said he wanted to show Burley the policy so he would know what he was getting; witness' husband went into the dining room and sat down at his desk while witness was sitting in the living room directly across from where she could see him; he kept his books and papers in the desk; after his death witness got the policy of the National Life from the desk and there was blood all over it; her husband owned a pistol and was very fond of it; witness knows that her husband saw the pistol and handled it a night or two before when Mitchell was there; witness' husband said, "I want to show you a good gun." He went to the desk and got the gun out and Mitchell said that was one thing he did not know much about; witness' father told Allen to put it up and he did; witness was looking at her husband; he did not say anything to Burley after he left the kitchen after he told him he wanted to get his policy; from the time he said that until the gun fired he did not speak a word to anyone; he sat down and opened the drawer; the gun was laying on the papers; her husband was right-handed; he started looking for the papers and the gun was laying on them; he could not look through them; he picked the gun up and started to lay it on the table; a day or two before he had cleaned up the gun and instead of laying it down he had it in his hand looking at it; he started to lay the gun down; he was sitting there looking it over and he took his left hand and spun this around and was just pranking with it like that (illustrating); does not know that the gun went off immediately, but when he snapped the gun back in place he was still; had his head down looking through these papers and he had the gun in his hand playing with it, as witness showed the jury; just does not know whether he cocked the gun or not; his handling the gun did not excite the witness; she knew he handled it quite a lot; has seen him many times; the gun went off; he did not speak from the time he was shot; he was killed instantly; witness does not know where the bullet entered his body, they would not let her see it; the gun had accidently discharged in his hand on another occasion; witness had a girl, Fay Martin, staying there at the time; she was sitting in the living room holding the baby; insured went into the bedroom to get...