Whitney v. Nat'l Masonic Acc. Ass'n of Des Moines

• Decision Date: 28 January 1893
• Citation: 52 Minn. 378,54 N.W. 184
• Parties: WHITNEY v NATIONAL MASONIC ACC. ASS'N OF DES MOINES.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

52 Minn. 378

54 N.W. 184

WHITNEYvNATIONAL MASONIC ACC. ASS'N OF DES MOINES.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Jan. 28, 1893.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

1. In a contract creating a definite legal obligation, (e. g. to pay a certain sum of money upon a specified contingency,) an agreement to the effect that the rights and obligations of the parties shall be determined by arbitration, and that no action shall be maintained on the contract, is not legally effectual to bar such an action.

2. Such a clause in a contract of insurance construed.

Appeal from district court, Hennepin county; Canty, Judge.

Action by Edwin C. Whitney against the National Masonic Accident Association of Des Moines, Iowa, on a certificate issued by defendant. From a judgment of dismissal, plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

Jackson & Atwater, for appellant.

Clark Varnum and F. A. Gilman, for respondent.

DICKINSON, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing the action. This disposition of the cause was directed by the court on the pleadings, when the case came on for trial, upon the ground that the action was prematurely instituted. It appears that the defendant is a corporation or association organized under the laws of the state of Iowa and engaged in insuring its members against accidents, the indemnity payable being realized by the association by assessment on its members. The plaintiff became a member of the association, and, having suffered an injury which would entitle him to indemnity, under the terms of his contract of membership, this action is prosecuted to recover the same. The certificate upon which the action is founded declares that, upon the consideration therein expressed, the plaintiff is accepted as a member of the association, “subject to all the conditions hereinafter contained, and entitled to the following benefits, viz. twenty-five dollars per week, *** as indemnity for loss of time resulting from bodily injury,” etc. There follows a statement of the “agreement and conditions under which this certificate is issued and accepted,” among which is the following: “Disputed claims shall be adjusted as follows: Should such a claim arise, it shall be referred to a committee of three, all of whom shall be Master Masons, -one to be chosen by the assured or his representative, one by the association, and the two so chosen shall select the third, none of whom shall be relatives of the assured, or have any pecuniary interest in the claim. No suit shall be brought upon any disputed claim before the same shall have been arbitrated by such committee, and the award of such committee shall be final and conclusive upon both the claimant and the association.” The same provision is embodied in the articles of incorporation. The defendant having disputed the plaintiff's claim for indemnity, two arbitrators were chosen,-one by each of the respective parties; but, as is alleged in the complaint, the arbitrators so chosen were unable to agree upon a third, and have utterly failed to arbitrate upon the claim. It further appears from the reply that the reason of the inability of the two arbitrators to select a third was that one of them insisted that the third arbitrator should be a lawyer, to which the other arbitrator would not consent.

The agreement with respect to arbitration is in such general terms that it must be regarded as intended to comprehend the whole matter of any claim which may be disputed, including the law as well as all the facts of the case. There is nothing indicating an intention to confine the arbitration here provided for to the determination of any particular fact or facts. By the terms of the contract, the subject to which this provision is applicable is not only so broad as to cover any controversy that may...