Sovereign Camp Woodmen of World v. Haller
| Citation | 56 N.E. 255,24 Ind.App. 108 |
| Decision Date | 14 February 1900 |
| Docket Number | 3,006 |
| Parties | SOVEREIGN CAMP WOODMEN OF THE WORLD v. HALLER |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Indiana |
From the Vanderburgh Circuit Court.
Reversed.
C. L Wedding, for appellant.
R. D Richardson and P. W. Frey, for appellee.
OPINION
This was an action brought by the appellee against the appellant upon a policy of insurance issued by appellant on the life of one Christian Haller, and made payable by the terms of said policy to appellee, Rosa Haller, who was the wife of the assured. A demurrer to the complaint was filed and overruled. Appellant answered in one paragraph. This paragraph seeks to avoid any liability under the policy of insurance, for the reason that it is alleged that the assured committed suicide. One of the provisions of the certificate, or policy of insurance, was as follows: "If the member holding this certificate shall be expelled from the fraternity, or become so far intemperate, or use opiates to such an extent as to permanently impair his health, or to produce delirium tremens, or shall die in consequence of a duel, or by his own hand (except it be shown that he was at the time insane) or by the hands of the beneficiary or beneficiaries named herein (except by accident), or in consequence of the violation or attempted violation of the laws of the State or of the United States, or of any other province or nation, or if any of the statements or declarations in the application for membership and upon the faith of which this certificate is issued shall be found in any respect untrue, then, in every such case, this certificate shall be null and void, and of no effect, and all moneys which shall have been paid and all rights and benefits which may have accrued on account of this certificate, shall be absolutely forfeited without notice or service." The same provision as to the liability of the appellant was a part of the appellant's by-laws, which were made a part of the policy of insurance by reference thereto. The answer, which was based on the violation of the above provision of the policy, was the only one filed, and the cause went to trial upon the issue thus formed. The trial was by a jury, which returned a verdict in favor of appellee, and, over appellant's motion for a new trial, judgment was rendered in her favor for the amount of the policy and interest. The only assigned error discussed by appellant's counsel questions the ruling of the lower court in overruling the appellant's motion for a new trial.
It is first contended that the verdict and judgment are not sustained by sufficient evidence. The evidence is short, and not conflicting in any material part. Christian Haller, the assured, was a member of White Oak Camp number twenty-six, Woodmen of the World, and had issued to him a beneficiary certificate upon his life payable to his wife, Rosa Haller, the appellee. The assured was a shoemaker, in Evansville, Indiana, his shop being about one and one-half miles from his residence; on account of the distance, he usually took his dinner with him; at other times his wife would take his dinner to him. The house in which the Hallers lived was built by the husband and wife, each contributing to the expense thereof, and upon a lot owned by the wife. On the morning of November 17, 1897, the assured left his residence, and went to his shop to work. Some time during the day his wife commenced an action against him for divorce, in which she charged him with cruel treatment and drunkenness, and procured a restraining order from the court prohibiting him from returning to his home and usual place of residence. He disappeared, and a few days later his hat was found on the banks of Pigeon creek, which runs through the city of Evansville. The hat was found at an unfrequented place about two and one-half squares from any crossing or traveled way over said creek. At the point where the hat was found, tracks made by some person going into the stream of water were found, but no tracks showing such person had come out. Search was made in Pigeon creek near where the hat was found, which resulted in the finding of the dead body of the assured within a few feet of where the tracks led into the stream. There were no marks upon the body, no evidence of any violence, no other footprints, and no evidence of any struggle upon the bank. Pigeon creek, at the point where the body was found, was ten to fourteen feet deep, and forty to sixty feet wide; the water was falling, leaving a muddy approach three or four feet wide to the "step off" into the deep water. Appellee made a prima facie case by the introduction of the beneficiary certificate, proof of death, and that the assured was a member of the fraternity in good standing at the time of his death. Notice of death was waived. The other facts proved were not material upon the issue made by appellant's answer.
The question then is: Had the jury the right to draw from this evidence the inference that the assured did not commit suicide, or were the facts proved such as would exclude any other inference than that the assured voluntarily took his own life? It seems to be the settled rule of law in all jurisdictions that where death results from drowning, or other unnatural cause, self destruction is not to be presumed; the law presumes that such death was the result of accident. Bliss on Ins., § 337; Travelers Ins. Co. v. McConkey, 127 U.S. 661, 8 S.Ct. 1360, 32 L.Ed. 308; Home, etc., Assn. v. Sargent, 142 U.S. 691, 12 S.Ct. 332, 35 L.Ed. 1160; Mutual Ins. Co. v. Wiswell, 56 Kan. 765, 44 P. 996, 35 L. R. A. 258; Travelers Ins. Co. v. Nicklas, 88 Md. 470, 41 A. 906; Travelers Ins. Co. v. Nitterhouse, 11 Ind.App. 155, 38 N.E. 1110; Walcott v. Metropolitan Ins. Co., 64 Vt. 221, 24 A. 992.
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