Herrick v. National Council of the Knights & Ladies of Security
Herrick v. National Council of the Knights & Ladies of Security
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This action was brought by Alma L. Herrick as the beneficiary of a life certificate issued by the defendant, The National Council of the Knights & Ladies of Se- . curity, to recover the sum of $3000, which the defendant had agreed to pay upon the death of her son, George A. Herrick. The defendant refused to pay the benefit on the ground that the insured had given false answers to questions in his application for admission to the order, which, under the by-laws, were to be treated as express warranties. Herrick was examined by an authorized examining physician of the defendant on the 29th day of January, 1912, who certified that Herrick was a first-class risk, and the latter was admitted as a member on or about February 2. One of the questions in the application
On this appeal the defendant contends that in his application George A. Herrick made false statements as to his physical condition, that these formed the basis of the insurance contract and, according to the terms of the certificate, defeats any recovery thereon.
Whether the statements were false or true was the only question in dispute between the parties. Upon it the evidence was conflicting. The trial court weighed the evidence and settled the dispute. The testimony of several witnesses, including the physician who was the accredited examiner of the defendant and examined George A. Herrick when he became a member of the order, was to the effect that he was then sound and well and had not had diabetes or any serious ailment before that time. About a year after becoming a member an examination by a physician disclosed that he had diabetes and, as we have seen, about twenty months after joining the order he died. According to the diagnosis of this physician, the diseased condition had existed about seven months prior to the examination. To repel any inference that Herrick had the disease when he made his application for membership, a physician testified that in the young the disease of diabetes runs its course in much shorter time than in the case of the aged, and that it might be expected to terminate fatally in less than a year in one of Herrick’s age. While one physician testified with considerable positiveness that Herrick had diabetes prior to the time he became a member of the order, his testimony was weakened to a great extent in the cross-examination. Besides, his appearance and manner in giving his testimony may have been more significant than his words. There was much.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.