St. Louis Police Relief Association v. Tierney

• Decision Date: 30 January 1906
• Parties: ST. LOUIS POLICE RELIEF ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, v. TIERNEY et al., Appellants; STRODE Admr., etc., et al., Respondents
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

91 S.W. 968

116 Mo.App. 447

ST. LOUIS POLICE RELIEF ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, v. TIERNEY et al., Appellants;

STRODE Admr., etc., et al., Respondents

Court of Appeals of Missouri, St. Louis

January 30, 1906

Appeal from St. Louis City Circuit Court.--Hon. Horatio D. Wood Judge.

AFFIRMED.

STATEMENT.--The suit is in equity by bill of interpleader. Plaintiff is a beneficiary society organized under the provisions of article ten of chapter twenty-one of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1879, and an act of the General Assembly entitled "An act authorizing the formation of a Police Relief Association in any city having over one hundred thousand inhabitants. Approved March 18, 1881." The objects of the plaintiff association are stated in section one of its charter to be "To create a fund for: First, the purposes of affording relief to such members of the association as may become (a) sick, (b) disabled, (c) incapacitated by long years of service. Second, to aid the families of police officers who may die while members of the association." Members of the police force of the city of St. Louis are eligible to membership in the association by complying with certain requirements, and upon the death of a member in good standing, the association thereupon becomes obligated to pay to the beneficiary properly designated by said member, the sum of two thousand dollars, and if the member shall have failed to make the designation of a beneficiary, the said sum is to be paid to his heirs at law, in accordance with the law of descents and distribution, and if he has failed to designate and has no heirs at law, the fund then reverts to the association. Michael Tierney, a police officer, departed this life while holding a membership in plaintiff association entitling his proper beneficiary to two thousand dollars. It is alleged on one hand by one set of interpleaders that he had properly designated his wife, Margaret Tierney, as his beneficiary and that she was therefore entitled to the fund of two thousand dollars, and she having since died, her estate is entitled thereto. On the other hand, it is alleged by another set of interpleaders that Michael Tierney made no designation of his said wife as beneficiary of said fund and therefore the same rightfully belongs to them as heirs at law of the assured. In order to relieve itself from being harassed by these rival claimants, plaintiff association filed its bill of interpleader in the court of equity setting up the facts, acknowledging liability to the extent of two thousand dollars to the proper parties, whoever they might be, and paid the amount into court, less a small allowance to it for attorneys' fees, and prayed the court for an order of interpleader on the said rival claimants whereby the right to said fund might be properly adjudicated etc., and the plaintiff discharged from further responsibility concerning the same. The interpleas were duly filed presenting the several claims. The pleadings and a more extended statement of the facts may be found in the same case, 103 Mo.App. 694, where this case is reported on a former appeal.

Upon the trial, the following facts were developed in evidence. Michael Tierney, several years ago, became a member of the police force of the city of St. Louis, and on August 4, 1890 also became a member of the St. Louis Police Relief Association which at that time, and prior to its readjustment, provided a death benefit of one thousand dollars instead of two thousand dollars, as at present. On August 19, 1892, he properly designated his wife, Margaret Tierney, on the books of the association as his beneficiary. On June 30, 1897, Michael Tierney resigned from the police force in order to embark in business, whereupon, by virtue of the constitution of the association, he, having severed his connection with the police force, ipso facto severed his connection with the relief association. Having thus severed his relations with the plaintiff association, he followed another calling for two years and more and on August 21, 1899, became a member of the St. Louis police force a second time, and on the 25th day of the same month, on his new application etc., became a member of the plaintiff association a second time and by his act of thus becoming a member of the plaintiff association a second time, the association became obligated to pay upon his death while in good standing, to such otherwise proper beneficiary as might be designated by him upon "the death benefit record" of the association, two thousand dollars. It seems that although the relief association had not been reorganized, the plan of relief had been so readjusted during the interim between Tierney's first and second affiliation therewith that it paid a benefit of two thousand dollars under the new, instead of one thousand dollars under the old arrangement. It appears that this association issued no certificate of membership in the nature of a policy or otherwise to its members and that therefore Tierney had no certificate evidencing the contract or any part thereof between himself and the association. Section five of article one of the constitution of the association provided for the designation and change of beneficiary and is as follows:

"Designation of Beneficiary. When an applicant is admitted to membership, he shall call at the office of the association between the hours of 9 and 11 a. m. on the third day after he has been admitted to membership, and designate on the death benefit record the disposition of his death benefit. Provided that a member may change his beneficiary by notifying the secretary in writing of his desire to do so, and designating the change desired."

Section four of article seven of the constitution provided when and to whom the death benefit should be paid and is as follows:

"Death. Whenever any member of the police force, who is a member of this association shall die, the sum of $ 2,000 shall be paid within thirty days after his demise, to such person or persons as he may have designated on the books of the Association. If he shall have failed to designate, it will be paid to his heirs-at-law in accordance with the law of descent and distribution. If he shall have failed to designate, and has no heirs at law, it shall then revert to the association."

Section one of article two of the constitution provides as follows:

"The rights, powers and responsibilities of this association shall be vested in, enjoyed, exercised and borne by an executive committee."

Section three of article five of the constitution constitutes the secretary the active business officer of the association and is as follows:

"Secretary. The secretary shall (1) before performing an official act, enter into bond in the sum of five thousand dollars, for the faithful performance of his official duties, the expense of which bond shall be borne by the association; (2) attend all meetings of the executive committee and record the proceedings thereof as approved; (3) conduct the correspondence of the association; (4) preserve the seal of the association, and prevent the improper use thereof; (5) collect all moneys due the association and pay the same over to the treasurer on or before the first Monday after each pay-day in the presence of at least two trustees; (6) keep a cash book showing (a) all moneys received, and from what source, (b) all moneys disbursed and on what account; (7) keep an individual ledger account with each member of the Association, and such other books as may be required; (8) exhibit his books, papers and accounts to any member of the executive committee whenever requested to do so; (9) report quarterly to the executive committee a detailed statement of the transactions of his office for the current quarter; (10) perform such other duties as may be from time to time prescribed by the executive committee; (11) transmit to his successor in office, as soon as qualified, all property of the association appertaining to his office; and (12) it shall be the duty of the secretary to be at his office from 9 to 11 a. m. on the third day after an applicant has been admitted to membership, so as to allow him to designate the disposition of his death benefit; it shall be attested by the Secretary under the seal of this association."

Section one of article nine of the constitution provides as follows:

"No record of the association shall be taken from the office and left at any police station, or other place, except it be in the custody of the secretary."

The institution seems to have provided no by-laws as such. The above constitutional provisions are all that are pertinent to the case at bar. While Tierney became a member of the association on his second application, August 25, 1899, it appears that he did not call at the office of the secretary between the hours of 9 and 11 a. m. on the third day thereafter and designate a beneficiary on the "death benefit record." No special reason is given why he failed to do so. It was shown, however, by Mr. Judge, the secretary of the association, that the requirements of this rule were not enforced by the association and that it was seldom complied with; that the association, in fact, encouraged the officers not to comply therewith, inasmuch as it was arranged whereby the captains of the several police districts were notified that on certain days the secretary would be at the police station of a certain district with the book, and the officers of the district were notified by the captain to call at the station and sign the book or make the designation required. The Secretary testified as follows:

"I took the book around to the different stations. . . . Several of the police officers dropped in. I was located at the ninth police district station at Dayton and...