Dial v. Fisk

197 S.W.2d 598, 1946 Tex. App. LEXIS 755
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 28, 1946
DocketNo. 5744.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 197 S.W.2d 598 (Dial v. Fisk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dial v. Fisk, 197 S.W.2d 598, 1946 Tex. App. LEXIS 755 (Tex. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

PITTS, Chief Justice.

This is a suit for a declaratory judgment under the Texas Uniform Declaratory-Judgments Act. Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art_ 2524 — 1, § 1 et seq. Appellant, Katherine L. Dial filed suit against Charles A. Fisk, administrator of the estate of Clarence W-Dial, deceased, to have herself declared the-beneficiary of a life insurance policy for *599 the sum of $2500 issued to Clarence W. Dial during his lifetime. Marguerite Ven-ners intervened as next friend of appellees, Dolores Dial, Mae Dial, and Florence Dial,' the minor children of Clarence W. Dial, deceased. The suit grew out of a situation existing in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Texas at Amarillo in which court John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company had filed a hill of interpleader concerning the policy in question and had interpleaded Katherine L. Dial and Charles A. Fisk, administrator, both of whom have answered in the Federal ¡Court claiming the proceeds of the policy and Marguerite Venners had intervened in that court claiming-_ the proceeds for the said minor children. The Federal Court had enjoined all parties from instituting or maintaining a suit on the policy in any other court. However, the Federal Court had sustained the motion of Katherine L. Dial to suspend further proceedings in the cause in that court until a declaratory judgment could be obtained in the State Court to determine who is entitled to the proceeds of the policy. Such resulted in this suit being filed.

The case was tried before the trial court without a jury and a declaratory judgment was entered to the effect that appellant and Fisk, administrator, take nothing, except that Fisk recover his costs against appellant, and that the intervenors, the three minor children, be and they were declared the sole beneficiaries in the policy and entitled to receive the proceeds from it from which judgment appellant perfected an appeal to this court.

Appellant presents three points of error to the effect that the trial court erred in declaring the minors are entitled to the proceeds of the policy and in refusing to declare that appellant is' entitled to such proceeds under the provisions of the law at the place where the contract of insurance was made. Appellant presents the three points under one argument and states that “The sole issue in this case is whether Texas courts will recognize and enforce substantive rights grounded on a foreign contract of insurance according to the lex .loci contractus, even though such rights might not exist if the contract had been a Texas contract of insurance.” ^

Appellees resist appellant’s contentions on the ground that, although appellant was the wife of deceased when the policy was issued and was named as the beneficiary of the policy, she had since been divorced from him and had no insurable interest in his life at the time of his death and that it would therefore be against public policy of this State to declare her to be entitled to the proceeds of the said policy. Appel-lees further contend that the trial court properly declared the three minor children to be the sole beneficiaries and entitled to the proceeds of the policy.

The parties have stipulated that Clarence W. Dial, deceased, was first married to Marguerite Dial Venners, who intervened as next friend of the three minors all of .whom were born to the marriage of her and Clarence W. Dial, from whom she had been divorced and she later remarried; that Clarence W. Dial never had any other children; that on April 30, 1938, Clarence W. Dial married appellant in Oklahoma in which State they continued to live for some time; that Qarence W. Dial was then employed by Liebmann Properties, an Oklahoma corporation, with its home office in El Reno, Oklahoma, and he continued to work for Liebmann Properties until his death (it shall hereafter be referred to as employer); that on November 16, 1938, Clarence W. Dial’s employer made application at its home office to John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, a Massachusetts corporation, for group life insurance covering its employees including Clarence W. Dial; that such policy was issued by the company at its office in Boston, Massachusetts, and delivered to employer at its home office in Oklahoma; that the insurance company likewise issued certificate number 18 and delivered it to Clarence W. Dial at his home in El Reno, Oklahoma, which certificate showed him to be insured for $2500. and named “Katherine L. Dial— wife, as beneficiary”; that on February 15, 1941, ¡Clarence W. Dial and his then wife, appellant, moved at the request of his employer to Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas, and afterwards to Amarillo, Potter *600 County, Texas; that on April 4, 1942, Clarence W- Dial was divorced from appellant in Potter County, Texas, and an agreed property settlement between them was then approved by the court; that on July 1, 1942, appellant moved to the State of Louisiana where she has since resided; that Clarence W. Dial continued to reside in Potter County, Texas, until his death on September 27, 1943, after which Charles A. Fisk, a resident of Potter County, Texas, was appointed and qualified as administrator of his estate; that copies of the instruments mentioned were introduced in evidence; that the policy has remained with the employer the whole time; that the certificate number 18 has not been changed since its delivery; that Clarence W. Dial was not indebted to appellant at the time of his death; that the proceeds of the policy is on deposit in the registry of the United States Court at Amarillo, and the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company has been discharged by that court with its costs and attorneys’ fees.

The policy provides that at the time of the death of the employee if there be no beneficiary the proceeds of the policy shall be paid to the surviving wife or husband, if any, or if there be no surviving wife or husband, to the children of the deceased, if any, or to the next of kin in further order there named.

The trial court found that Clarence W. Dial did not remarry after he was divorced from Katherine L. Dial and was a single man at the time of his death and made other findings consistent with the facts shown in the stipulation above referred co. As a result of such findings the trial court concluded that appellant did not have any insurable interest in the life of 'Clarence W. Dial after he was divorced from her and that it would be against public policy of this State to permit appellant to recover the proceeds of the policy. It likewise found that the minor children as in-tervenors were the sole beneficiaries and jointly entitled to receive all of the proceeds of the policy and it so declared.

Appellant contends that she is entitled to the proceeds of the policy because the contract for insurance was entered into in the State of Oklahoma and the insurance policy was issued in the State of Massachusetts. ,She further contends that both of these States recognize the rule which authorizes a divorced wife to collect the proceeds of an insurance policy on the life of her former husband after his death if she is named the beneficiary in the policy even though she has been divorced from him and has no insurable interest in his life at the time of his death. She claims the doctrine of comity will enforce her rights in the mátter.

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Bluebook (online)
197 S.W.2d 598, 1946 Tex. App. LEXIS 755, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dial-v-fisk-texapp-1946.