Edwards v. Life Casualty Ins. Co. of Tenn.

29 So. 2d 50, 210 La. 1024, 1946 La. LEXIS 851
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedDecember 13, 1946
DocketNo. 38179.
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 29 So. 2d 50 (Edwards v. Life Casualty Ins. Co. of Tenn.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edwards v. Life Casualty Ins. Co. of Tenn., 29 So. 2d 50, 210 La. 1024, 1946 La. LEXIS 851 (La. 1946).

Opinion

FOURNET, Justice.

The Life and Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee applied for and was granted a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit affirming a judgment of the lower court in favor of the beneficiary of two policies of insurance issued by it on the life of the late Robert Edwards, Jr., who, after he had enlisted in the naval forces during the last world war and while assigned to the United States ,-Naval Training School (Radio) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, for special instruction and training, contracted, pneumonia from which, after a brief illness, he died in the Sanitarium Hospital in Boulder. See, 25 So.2d 552.

It is the relator’s contention that the court erred in affirming the lower court’s judgment awarding the beneficiary the face value of these policies because in them is contained a clause specifically limiting the company’s liability in the event of death of the insured while “enrolled in military, naval, or air service, in time of war,” unless the insured secured a permit from the company and paid an extra premium to cover the additional hazard, if he desired to maintain the policy in full force while so enrolled, which he did not do in the instant case.

The first policy, issued on June 17, 1935, in the amount of $250, contains the provision, under the heading “Military and Naval Service,” that “The insured may serve *1028 in the Navy or Army of the United States or in the National Guard in time of peace or for the purpose of maintaining order in case of riot; in time of actual war, however, a written permit must be obtained from the Company for such service and an extra premium paid. Should the insured die while enrolled in such service in war time without such permit, the Company’s liability will be restricted to the net reserve of this policy.” At the time this suit was instituted, the net reserve under this policy amounted to $50.

Under the same heading, in the second policy, issued on June 7, 1943, in the amount of $750, is contained the provision: “The liability of the company shall be limited to the reserve on this policy, or to one-fifth of the amount, payable hereunder on the death of the Insured, whichever is the greater, if the Insured should die while enrolled in military, naval, or' air service in time of war, whether declared or undeclared; or if the Insured should die as the direct or indirect result of such service, without securing a permit signed by an executive officer of the Company, and paying such extra premium as the Company may fix to cover the hazard.” A fifth of the face value of the policy, amounting to $150 at the time this suit was filed, was the greater amount in this instance.

Both of these policies contain an incontestable clause specifically exempting from incontestability the violation of the policy terms relative to service in the armed forces during time of wár.

The Court of Appeal, in a well considered opinion, recognizing that it is the universal rule of law that policies of insurance are the contracts between the parties and that while all ambiguities must be construed in favor of the insured and against the insurer the courts have no authority to changb or alter their terms, under the guise of interpretation, when they are couched in clear and unambiguous language, as well as the fact that according to the great weight of authority a provision in a policy limiting the liability or exempting the insurer from liability while the insured is engaged in the naval or military service is valid and not against public policy, concluded that the two policies “are not worded with that certainty and freedom from ambiguity which admits of only one construction,” and that, therefore, it was “within the province of the court to proceed to construe and interpret the provisions in a manner consistent with established principles of construction.” The court then very aptly pointed out that, broadly speaking, the many cases bearing on the question can be grouped in three divisions or categories, as follows:

“First, those cases in which the wording of the policy has been interpreted as limiting the risk of the- insurer because of the status of the insured. A limitation of this character amounts to no more than a limitation or refusal to cover the risk attend *1030 ant upon one pursuing the occupation of service in the military or naval forces. In other words, the service of arms is a prohibited occupation within the terms of such policies, and it is not unusual for policies of insurance to enumerate particular classes of occupations in which an insured would not be covered. Under this group classification recovery has been denied, as in the case of Olsen v. Grand Lodge, [A. O. U. W. of North Dakota] 1921, 48 N.D. 285, 184 N.W. 7, 8, 15 A.L.R. 1270, where benefits under the policy were subject to forfeiture in the event the insured ‘should hereafter enter the occupation of a soldier in time of war.’ Also see Huntington v. Fraternal Reserve Ass’n [of Oshkosh,] 173 Wis. 582, 181 N.W. 819, 820, in which the certificate provided for limitation of the' amount of benefit in the event the insured should become a ‘soldier in the regular army, in time of war’ and ‘any claim accrues while insured is so occupied, whether resulting from such changed occupation or not, directly or indirectly, * * *’; and to the same effect is Miller v. Illinois Bankers Life Association, 138 Ark. 442, 212 S.W. 310, 7 A.L.R. 378, where the policy contained this clause:

“ ‘It is expressly provided that death while in the service in the army or navy of the government in time of war is not a risk covered * * *.’

“Second, the group under which the limiting provision has been held as intending to protect the insurer against those instances where the cause of death was the result of the military service; in other words, where it was evident that the character of risk insured against was that which might be common to both civilian and military life, and those risks which were peculiar to military life were intended to be excepted. Under this classification recovery has been denied in those instances where death resulted as a direct consequence of service; Marks v. Supreme Tribe of Ben Hur, 191 Ky. 385, 230 S.W. 540, 15 A.L.R. 1277, where the insured was killed in France; Railey v. United Life & Accident Insurance Co., 26 Ga.App. 269, 106 S.E. 203, 15 A.L.R. 1281, where the insured was killed as a result of a ship collision in the north channel between Scotland and Ireland; and, in most instances, recovery has been allowed where death was not attributable to the hazards of service; Boatwright v. American Life Insurance Co., 191 Iowa 253, 180 N.W. 321, 11 A.L.R. 1085, involving death from influenza while in camp; Gorder v. Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., 49 N.D. 192, 180 N.W. 514, 11 A.L.R. 1080, where insured died of pneumonia which was epidemic among both civilian and military population; Myli v. American Life Insurance Co. [of Des Moines, Iowa,] 43 N.D. 495, 175 N.W. 631, 11 A.L.R. 1097, where death was caused by influenza and not by any extra hazard incident to military service.

“Third, those cases in which the character of service was regarded as the determining factor in interpreting a restriction *1032 or exemption clause.

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Bluebook (online)
29 So. 2d 50, 210 La. 1024, 1946 La. LEXIS 851, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edwards-v-life-casualty-ins-co-of-tenn-la-1946.