Crotty v. Union Mutual Life Insurance
Supreme Court of the United States
ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. On January 31, 1883, defendant in error, defendant below, insured the life of Michael O’Brien.
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ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. On January 31, 1883, defendant in error, defendant below, insured the life of Michael O’Brien. The language of the policy was this:- “Does promise Michael O’Brien, of Loekfordin the State of California to pay to said Michael O’Brien the sum of ten thousand dollars (any indebtedness to the company on account of this contract to be first deducted therefrom) at the office of the company in Portland, Maine, on the fifi teenth day of January in the year nineteen hundred and forty-one, or if said Michael…
1Opinion of the Court
Mr. Justice Brewer,
after stating the case, delivered- the opinion of the court.
"Without noticing other questions discussed by counsel, it is sufficient to consider that of plaintiff’s interest in the policy. It is the settled law of this court that a claimant under a life insurance policy must have an insurable interest in the life of the insured. Wagering contracts in insurance have been repeatedly denounced. Cammack v. Lewis, 15 Wall. 643, in which a policy of $3000, taken out to secure a debt of $70, was declared “ a sheer wagering policy.” Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. v.…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- Warnock v. DavisSupreme Court of the United States · 1882
- Central Bank of Washington v. HumeSupreme Court of the United States · 1888
- Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance v. SchaeferSupreme Court of the United States · 1877
- Insurance Co. v. NewtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1875
- Cammack v. LewisSupreme Court of the United States · 1873
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by33 opinions
- Braly v. Commercial Casualty InsuranceSupreme Court of Kansas · 1951
- Exchange Bank v. LohSupreme Court of Georgia · 1898
- Thornell v. Missouri State Life Ins.Texas Commission of Appeals · 1923
- Metropolitan Life Insurance v. People's Trust Co.Indiana Supreme Court · 1912
- Horwitz v. New York Life Ins. Co.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1935
28 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.