Zinke v. Knights of Maccabees of The World

• Decision Date: 07 September 1918
• Citation: 205 S.W. 1,275 Mo. 660
• Parties: AUGUSTA M. ZINKE v. KNIGHTS OF THE MACCABEES OF THE WORLD, Appellant
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

205 S.W. 1

275 Mo. 660

AUGUSTA M. ZINKE v. KNIGHTS OF THE MACCABEES OF THE WORLD, Appellant

Supreme Court of Missouri

September 7, 1918

Writ quashed.

R. P. & C. B. Williams for petitioner.

Durham and Durham for respondent.

WOODSON J. Graves and Walker, JJ., concur; Faris, J., concurs in result; Bond, C. J., Blair and Williams, JJ., dissent.

OPINION

In Banc.

Certiorari.

WOODSON J.

Augusta M. Zinke brought a suit against the Knights of the Maccabees of the World to recover $ 421.60, the balance alleged to be due her on a benefit certificate issued by it on the life of Ferdinand G. Zinke, her husband. She recovered judgment for the amount sued for, and the defendant appealed the cause to the St. Louis Court of Appeals, which affirmed the judgment of the circuit court.

After taking the proper preliminary steps the petitioner applied to this court for a writ of certiorari directed to the Court of Appeals, which was duly issued, and in due time return was properly made thereto.

No point is made upon the pleadings, so they will be put aside.

The facts are fairly stated by the Court of Appeals in the opinion written by it, which we here copy:

"Plaintiff instituted this action before a justice of the peace by filing a statement in which she claimed that she was beneficiary in a benefit certificate issued on the life of her husband, Ferdinand G. Zinke, in the sum of $ 1000; that the insured departed this life during the time that said benefit certificate was in force, and that the association paid plaintiff the sum of $ 578.40, leaving a balance of $ 421.60 due plaintiff, which balance had been previously demanded and payment refused. From a judgment in favor of plaintiff in the justice court the defendant appealed. On a trial de novo in the circuit court before a judge and jury a judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff and against the defendant in the sum of $ 421.60 and defendant in due course appealed.

"It is admitted that the defendant, Knights of the Maccabees of the World, is a corporation, successor to the Supreme Tent Knights of the Maccabees of the World, and is a fraternal benefit association organized under the laws of the State of Michigan and authorized to do business in the State of Missouri; that the defendant had issued, on the life of Ferdinand G. Zinke, its policy No. 20,410, and that at his death one assessment on the membership, not exceeding in amount the sum of $ 1000, was to be paid thereunder as a benefit to plaintiff, Augusta M. Zinke, wife of the insured upon satisfactory proof of his death and the surrender of the said certificate; that one assessment on the membership of the defendant company at the time of the death of Ferdinand G. Zinke would have amounted to more than the sum of $ 1000. The application of the insured for membership in the defendant order contained the following:

"'I also agree that should I commit suicide in contravention of the laws of said Supreme Tent, whether sane or insane at the time, that this contract shall be null and void and of no binding force upon said Supreme Tent.

"'This application and the laws of said Supreme Tent now in force or that may hereafter be adopted, together with my certificate of membership, are made the contract between myself and the said Supreme Tent, and I for myself and my beneficiary agree to conform to and be governed thereby.'

"Section 379 of the by-laws of the defendant in force and effect at the time of the decease of the insured provides that:

"'No benefit shall be paid on account of the death of a member who shall die by his own hand, whether sane or insane; provided, however, that the beneficiary named in the life benefit certificate, or the person legally entitled to the benefit, shall receive an amount equal to twice the amount contributed to the Life Benefit Fund by the member during his lifetime, but not in excess of the face of the certificate.'

"There is no controversy but that Ferdinand G. Zinke, the insured, paid the defendant association in monthly rates on said certificate up to the time of his death $ 289.20; that at the time of his death his dues to the association were paid, and that he was in good standing; that on or about the 5th day of June, 1913, some time after the death of the insured, the defendant association paid to Augusta M. Zinke, the plaintiff, the sum of $ 573.40, being twice the amount of the monthly rates contributed to the Life Benefit Fund by Ferdinand G. Zinke during his lifetime.

"The record shows that the insured died on the 31st of March, 1913, and that the beneficiary, plaintiff herein, furnished the defendant preliminary proofs of death, consisting of her own affidavit, the affidavit of the attending physician, the verdict of the coroner's jury, affidavits taken at the coroner's inquest, and the sworn statement of the officers of the subordinate lodge of which the insured was a member. Each of these papers gave the cause of the death of the insured as suicide. The affidavit of the beneficiary contained the following: 'Date of death, -- March 31, 1913;' 'Remote cause of death? Had trouble with his head for about six weeks;' 'Immediate cause of death? Not of sound mind, suicide.' The defendant association upon receiving the preliminary proofs of death issued its check, payable to the beneficiary, in the sum of $ 578.40, which is admitted to be double the amount the insured had paid in during his lifetime. This check, together with the receipt prepared by the defendant association, was sent forward to the officers of the local lodge, which it appears was customary, with instructions to turn the same over to the plaintiff upon the execution of the receipt.

"It appears that plaintiff did not accept the check immediately but consulted the officers of the local lodge and her attorney, and took the matter under advisement for some days. Plaintiff's attorney advised her 'that if it should be found by a trier of the fact that suicide was the cause of her husband's death, that amount was all that was due under the policy. I advised her further that if he had not committed suicide, the full amount, namely, $ 1,000, would be coming to her; also advised her concerning the necessary steps...