Odiorne v. New England Mutual Marine Insurance
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Contract by a merchant doing business in Boston, to recover the amount insured on his ship Zero by a policy issued by the defendants, an insurance company established in Boston. The case was submitted to the judgment of the superior court, and, on appeal, of this court, upon agreed facts, of which the following are all that are material.
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Contract by a merchant doing business in Boston, to recover the amount insured on his ship Zero by a policy issued by the defendants, an insurance company established in Boston. The case was submitted to the judgment of the superior court, and, on appeal, of this court, upon agreed facts, of which the following are all that are material. The policy was issued on March 2, 1867; insured the vessel for one year from February 26,1867; and contained the follow • ing clause: “ Prohibited from the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, Northumberland Straits, or Cape Breton, and Black Sea, between October…
1Opinion of the CourtChapman, C. J.
As a policy of insurance is a written instrument, its language must be regarded as expressing what the parties intended to agree upon, and the court must construe it without being influenced by the oral statements of either party. Therefore, the oral statements of the president of the company as to the construction of the policy in this case, which were offered in evidence by the plaintiff, are inadmissible. The usage which was offered to be proved is also inadmissible. Seccomb v. Provincial Insurance Co. 10 Allen, 305. It is merely a usage among underwriters in Boston to construe a clause of…
2Cited by14 opinions
- Haskins v. WarrenMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1874
- Cass v. LordMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1920
- Canton Ins. Office, Ltd. v. Independent Transp. Co.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1914
- Whiton v. Albany City InsuranceMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1871
- Scammell v. China Mutual InsuranceMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1895
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