Aaberg v. Minnesota Commercial Men's Ass'n

173 N.W. 708, 143 Minn. 354, 1919 Minn. LEXIS 510
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedJuly 25, 1919
DocketNo. 21,346
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 173 N.W. 708 (Aaberg v. Minnesota Commercial Men's Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aaberg v. Minnesota Commercial Men's Ass'n, 173 N.W. 708, 143 Minn. 354, 1919 Minn. LEXIS 510 (Mich. 1919).

Opinion

Taylor, C.

Defendant is a corporation organized under the laws of Minnesota for the purpose of giving its members "conservative and reasonable Health, Accident and Specific Benefit insurance on a mutual plan." Its membership is limited to men engaged in commercial and professional pursuits, and is composed mainly of traveling salesmen. When a member is accepted, it issues to him a certificate of membership which states that his application and the by-laws constitute his contract of insurance. The by-laws provide for several forms of insurance and the [356]*356applicant is required to designate in his application the particular form which he desires. Plaintiff made an application designating accident insurance as the form he desired. His application was accepted and defendant issued to him the following certificates:

No. 13540

Minnesota Commercial Men’s Association.

This is to certify that Albert Aaberg is a member of the Minnesota Commercial Men’s Association and is entitled to protection as applied for in his application for membership, subject to the provisions and stipulations of the By-laws of the said Minnesota Commercial Men’s Association, which Application and By-laws constitute the Contract Between the said Minnesota Commercial Men’s Association and the member above mentioned; and subject, further, to any and all additions, extensions and changes of the said By-laws as they may in the future be created and amended by the members in annual meeting.

“In Witness Whereof the said Minnesota Commercial Men’s Association has caused its Corporate Seal-to be hereunto affixed, and these presents to be signed by its President and Secretary on this First day of February, 1915. Seal

Gr. W. Barnes, President.

A. J. Alwin, Secretary.

While riding in a buggy the team became unmanageable and plaintiff was thrown oiit and injured. Alleging that he had been totally disabled for a period of 54 weeks by the injuries sustained, he brought suit on the insurance contract to recover the maximum indemnity of $35 per week for that period. The jury returned a verdict for the full amount claimed. Defendant appealed from an order denying a motion in the alternative for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial.

In its answer defendant alleged that the application of plaintiff and the by-laws of defendant constituted the contract between the parties; that the contract stipulated that certain specified representations in the application were warranted to be true, and that the contract should be void and of no effect if they were not true; that' these representations were false and that the contract never became of force or effect for that [357]*357reason; that the contract further stipulated that defendant should he released from liability thereunder, if plaintiff took out additional accident insurance without notifying defendant thereof; that plaintiff took out additional accident insurance of which he gave defendant no notice and thereby released defendant from liability; that the contract further stipulated that, if any difference should arise at any time respecting the validity or adjustment of any .claim thereunder, it should be submitted to arbitrators as provided therein, and that such submission to arbitrators should be a condition precedent to the right to maintain a suit in court; that this provision had never been waived by defendant, and that plaintiff had made no attempt to comply with it. The answer also contained a general denial and raised an issue as to the extent of plaintiff’s disability, the length of time it continued, and the amount to which he would be entitled under the contract if it was in force.

At the trial plaintiff, after offering in evidence his certificate of membership, offered in evidence section 7 of the by-laws. This section prescribes the indemnity to which a member having accident insurance is entitled for disabilities resulting from accidental injury. Defendant’s objection that this section constituted only a part of the contract and that the entire contract should be offered was overruled. Later defendant offered in evidence the application and the other by-laws as constituting the remainder of the contract. They were excluded, on the ground that not being attached to the certificate of membership they were not a part of the contract. The court held that defendant was precluded by the law from proving those provisions of the application and by-laws on which it based its defense and whether this ruling was correct is the principal question presented.

At the trial the court withdrew the issue of fraud from the jury, on the ground that the evidence would not justify a finding of fraud. The ease is brought here on a bill of exceptions which does not contain the evidence on the issue of fraud, and therefore the ruling withdrawing that issue from the jury is not presented for review. Plaintiff contends that the defenses based on the alleged violation of the contract in taking out additional insurance without notifying defendant, and in bringing suit without offering to submit the claim to arbitration, are not sufficiently alleged in the answer to permit defendant to introduce evidence in support of them. We' are unable to sustain this contention. The [358]*358answer sets forth the provisions of the contract relating to these matters and that plaintiff failed to comply with such provisions in the respects stated therein. Furthermore the proffered evidence was not excluded as inadmissible under the pleadings, no such objection was made at the trial or passed upon by the trial court.

Defendant unquestionably had the right to prove the entire contract, unless barred from doing so by the statutes regulating the business of insurance. G. S. 1913, § 3292, provides:

“A statement in full of the conditions of insurance shall be incorporated in or attached to every policy, and neither the application of the insured nor the by-laws of the company shall be considered as a warranty or a part of the contract, except insofar as they are so incorporated or attached.”

This is a general provision applicable to all classes of insurance companies or associations which are not excepted therefrom by other provisions of the statutes, and is the provision on which plaintiff relies as justifying the rulings of the court.

Chapter 156, p. 181, of the Laws of 1913 established a complete code regulating and governing health and accident insurance, and repealed all acts and parts of acts inconsistent therewith. This act constitutes sections 3522 to 3535, inclusive, of the General Statutes of 1913. Section 3523 provides that no health or accident policy shall be issued or delivered, unless it complies with six requirements specified in that section. Section 3524 provides that every such policy issued shall contain fifteen “Standard Provisions” set forth in full in that section. Section 3525 provides that no such policy shall be issued or delivered which contains any provisions relative to certain matters specified therein, unless such provisions are in the words set forth in that section and designated therein as “Optional Standard Provisions,” but gives the insurer the right to omit any such provision from the policy. Section 3526 provides:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
173 N.W. 708, 143 Minn. 354, 1919 Minn. LEXIS 510, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aaberg-v-minnesota-commercial-mens-assn-minn-1919.