Tomlinson v. Sovereign Camp of Woodmen of the World
Supreme Court of Iowa
Appeal from Madison District Court — Hon. W. H. Fahey, Judge.. Action at law upon a certificate of membership, issued by the defendant, a beneficiary society, to Ralph Y. Collier.
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Appeal from Madison District Court — Hon. W. H. Fahey, Judge.. Action at law upon a certificate of membership, issued by the defendant, a beneficiary society, to Ralph Y. Collier. By the terms of the certificate, defendant agreed to pay to Mirtel G-. Tomlinson, a sister of the insured, the sum of $500 in ease of death of the member within one year from the date of the certificate; $750 in the event it occurred during the second year; and $1,000 in the event it occurred after the second year. Collier died within one year, and this action is to recover the sum of $500.' By the terms of the…
1Opinion of the CourtDeemer, J.
I. The sole issue in the case was whether or not Collier, the insured, committed suicide; for death from a pistol shot was either expressly admitted or conclusively shown.
1. Insurance: cause of death: presumption : suicide: burden of proof. Upon such death being shown, a presumption arose that the death was accidental, rather than suicidal or with felonious intent by the hand of another. This, of course, is not a legal presumption, but rather a presumption of fact, or inference, which is to be drawn from the fact that men do not, as a rule, commit suicide; and a felonious homicide is not…
2Cases cited16 opinions
- Insurance Co. v. NewtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1875
- Grand Lodge Independent Order of Mutual Aid v. WietingIllinois Supreme Court · 1897
- People v. WestlakeCalifornia Supreme Court · 1882
- State v. MorphySupreme Court of Iowa · 1871
- Stephenson v. Bankers Life Ass'n of Des MoinesSupreme Court of Iowa · 1899
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3Cited by6 opinions
- Wilkinson v. National Life Assn.Supreme Court of Iowa · 1926
- Brown v. Metropolitan Life InsuranceSupreme Court of Iowa · 1942
- Burrier v. Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New YorkWashington Supreme Court · 1963
- Wilkinson v. National Life Assn.Supreme Court of Iowa · 1929
- Burrier v. Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New YorkWashington Supreme Court · 1963
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.