Helmetag's Adm'r v. Miller
Supreme Court of Alabama
Appeal from the Chancery Court of Mobile. Heard before the Hon. John A. Foster. The bill in this case was filed on the 27th November, 1883, by Mrs. Amelia Ilelmetag, as the administratrix of the estate of her deceased husband, Frederick W. Ilelmetag, against John W. Miller; and sought an account from the defendant of moneys which he had received on a policy of life-insurance assigned to him by said decedent in his life-time, and a decree in favor of the complainant for the…
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Appeal from the Chancery Court of Mobile. Heard before the Hon. John A. Foster. The bill in this case was filed on the 27th November, 1883, by Mrs. Amelia Ilelmetag, as the administratrix of the estate of her deceased husband, Frederick W. Ilelmetag, against John W. Miller; and sought an account from the defendant of moneys which he had received on a policy of life-insurance assigned to him by said decedent in his life-time, and a decree in favor of the complainant for the balance which might'be found in his hands, after allowing the amount which he might be entitled to retain. The policy was…
1Opinion of the CourtSomerville, J.
— No principle of the law of life-insurance is at this day better settled, than the doctrine, that a policy taken out by one person upon the life of another, in which he has no insurable interest, is illegal and void, as repugnant to public policy. — 3 Kent’s Com. (11th Ed.) 462-63. Such contracts are aptly termed “ wager policies,” and are entitled to no higher dignity, in the eye of the law, than gambling speculations, or idle bets as to the probable duration of human life. There is no limit to the insurable interest which a man may have in his ovni life; but there are forcible reasons why…
2Cases cited9 opinions
- Warnock v. DavisSupreme Court of the United States · 1882
- Ruse v. . the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance CompanyNew York Court of Appeals · 1861
- Cammack v. LewisSupreme Court of the United States · 1873
- Guardian Mutual Life Ins. v. HoganIllinois Supreme Court · 1875
- Lord v. DallMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1815
4 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by44 opinions
- Liberty National Life Insurance Company v. WeldonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1957
- Patrick v. Union State BankSupreme Court of Alabama · 1996
- Exchange Bank v. LohSupreme Court of Georgia · 1898
- Alabama Gold Life Insurance v. Mobile Mutual InsuranceSupreme Court of Alabama · 1886
- Gordon v. Ware Nat. BankCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1904
39 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.