Barlow v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America

The court below was in error in charging the jury that section 341 of the Civil Practice Act placed the burden on the defendant insurance company to come forward with evidence to rebut the presumption of death because of the insured’s seven years’ absence. The “ due proof ” required as a condition precedent to an insured’s liability upon a policy of life insurance is not met by relying upon the presumption and by casting upon the insurer the burden of affirmatively proving that the insured was alive within the period of seven years ’ disappearance. While death in an action on an insurance…