Mills v. Home Benefit Life Ass'n
Mills v. Home Benefit Life Ass'n
Opinion of the Court
The facts of this case are fully stated in Murray v. Home Benefit Life Assn., 90 Cal. 402; 25 Am. St. Rep. 133. Upon that appeal, by the decision of the court, the cause was remanded for a new trial. The respondent has since married, a new trial has been had, and the case is again before us upon the merits. In this action a recovery is sought upon a policy or certificate of insurance, issued by appellant upon the life of respondent’s husband. Prior to his death he suffered default in the payment of two certain assessments, and such default is now relied upon to defeat the right of recovery. Respondent insists that the forfeiture incurred by reason of the aforesaid defaults was waived, owing to an extension of time being granted to make the payments, and this court’s disposition of the case is solely dependent upon the conclusion to be arrived at from an examination of this question of forfeiture and
To avoid the force and effect of the prior decision of this court as to the waiver, upon the second trial it was attempted to be shown that a health certificate (to be signed and returned to the company) was inclosed to the insured in connection with these notices of assessments due, to the effect that the insured was in good health,
Upon the question of the sending of a health certificate to the insured an issue of fact was presented to the trial court, and upon that issue the court made its finding; and after first finding as a fact that it was the customary practice of defendant to inclose these certificates with notices of delinquent assessments, the court further found “ that said custom was n'ot invariable, and was not followed in the instance of the sending to said Murray of the notice of said assessment to become due and payable on or before the first day of October, a. d. 1886, but the failure to so mail the notice that such certificate was required was an exception to the customary practice of said company.”
Appellant now insists that the portion of this finding to the effect that defendant mailed no health certificate to the insured is unsupported by the evidence, but we cannot say so by the record. The testimony upon the one side is that of the ex-secretary of the company, and upon the other that of the plaintiff, the former wife of the insured. The ex-secretary does not testify positively that the certificate was sent; the wife does not testify positively that it was not received. The evidence as to the fact is purely circumstantial upon both sides. The appellant says it was the custom of the company to send this paper under the then existing conditions; ergo, it was sent. The respondent says it was the custom of the wife to receive all insurance papers sent to the insured; she did not receive this one; ergo, it was not sent. The question appears to be one of presumption, inference, probability, and conjecture, and under such circumstances we will not disturb the court’s best judgment as to the truth of the fact.
For the foregoing reasons the judgment and order are affirmed.
Harrison, J., and Van Fleet, J., concurred.
Hearing in Bank denied.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- MIRANDA E. MILLS v. HOME BENEFIT LIFE ASSOCIATION
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Appeal—Law of Case.—Where the facts are the same upon a first and second appeal the law of the case is established by the decision of the court upon the first appeal. Life Insurance—Waiver of Forfeiture—Notice to Pay Assessment.— Where a person insured in a home benefit life association has made default in the payment of assessments a forfeiture on account of such default is waived by a letter written to the insured by the company, notifying him that an assessment would be due upon a day named in the future, and requesting a remittance of the assessment on or before the date specified. Id.—Health Certificate—Question of Fact—Circumstantial Evidence—Conflict.—The question whether a health certificate was sent with the notice of assessment, which the insured was unable to make, because he was not then in good health, is a question of fact, and a finding that such health certificate was not sent with the notice will not be disturbed upon appeal, where the evidence as to the fact is purely circumstantial on both sides, and there is circumstantial evidence in support of the finding. Id.—Finding of Waiver—Implied Finding—Intentional Failure to Send Health Certificate.—Where the court finds as an ultimate fact that the insurance company waived a forfeiture such finding implies a finding of an intentional failure by the company to send a health certificate, if necessary to support the waiver.