Farr v. Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co.

200 So. 865, 197 La. 111, 1941 La. LEXIS 1020
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedFebruary 3, 1941
DocketNo. 35904.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 200 So. 865 (Farr v. Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co.) 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
Farr v. Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co., 200 So. 865, 197 La. 111, 1941 La. LEXIS 1020 (La. 1941).

Opinions

PONDER, Justice.

The plaintiff, Floyd E. Farr, seeks to recover from the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Marie Watson Farr the proceeds of a certain life insurance policy.

The question involved in this case is whether the plaintiff or Marie Watson Farr is entitled to the proceeds of a life insurance policy. The Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company issued a life insurance policy to Floyd E. Farr, Sr., deceased, on May 28, 1933, calling for the sum of $5,-000. Floyd E. Farr, Jr., the son of the insured, was named the beneficiary therein and in event of his death before that of the insured, Jennie Mason Farr, wife of the insured. There was attached to the policy at that time an educational insurance agreement bearing the same date of the policy. On July 23, 1936, the insured, having been divorced from his wife, Jennie Mason Farr, and having married Marie Watson, the codefendant herein, substituted the name of Marie Watson *113 in the place of that of his first wife as contingent beneficiary. On September 2, 1936, there was another educational insurance agreement attached to the policy containing substantially the same provisions as the previous one except that the name of Marie Watson Farr was substituted in the place of Jennie Mason Farr. On August 6, 1937, a written indorsement was made on the policy, on the written request of the insured, designating Marie Watson Farr, wife of the insured as beneficiary, or in the event of her death before the insured Floyd E. Farr, Jr., son of the insured. On that day another educational agreement was attached to and made part of the policy which reads as follows:

“A written request therefor having been made by the insured, it is hereby understood and agreed that should Mary Watson Farr, one of the beneficiaries designated under this Policy, survive the Insured, the amount of the death benefit payable under the conditions of the Policy shall be paid to said beneficiary in continuous monthly instalments (240 instalments certain and for the life of the beneficiary thereafter) ; provided,' however, that should Floyd E. Farr, Jr., the other beneficiary designated under this Policy, be living at the time this Policy becomes a claim by death and should said beneficiary not then have attained the age of twenty-one years, the amount of the death benefit payable under the conditions of the Policy shall be retained by the Company, and on the date on which the said Floyd E. Farr, Jr., shall attain the age of twenty-one years, or at any time prior thereto on evidence being furnished that the said Floyd E. Farr, Jr. is not then living, the amount so retained, together with any accrued interest thereon, shall be paid to the said Mary Watson Farr in instalments as hereinbefore provided.
“That should the said Floyd E. Farr, Jr. become entitled to payment either at the time this Policy becomes a claim by death or subsequent thereto, the amount of the death benefit, the amount retained by the Company together with any accrued interest thereon, or the value of any unpaid instalments certain commuted at the rate of three and one-half per centum per annum, as the case may be, shall be paid to said beneficiary in a lump sum; provided, however, that should said beneficiary become entitled to payment and not have attained the age of twenty-one years, the amount accruing to said beneficiary shall be retained by the Company and the amount so retained, together with any accrued interest thereon, paid to said beneficiary on attaining said age;
“That, except as hereinbefore provided, said retention and payment of instalments shall be made in the manner and amount and subject to the conditions of the Settlement Options of the Policy and of Options 1 and 5 thereunder.
“It is specifically understood and agreed that at any time during the retention under said Option 1 as hereinbefore provided, should evidence satisfactory to the Company be furnished that the said Floyd E. Farr, Jr. has entered grade school, in lieu of payment as hereinbefore provided, interest on the amount then retained by the *115 Company shall be paid monthly; should evidence satisfactory to the Company be furnished that the said Floyd E. Farr, Jr. has entered high schood, in lieu of payment as hereinbefore provided, the amount then retained by the Company shall be paid in monthly instalments of $37.50 each; and should evidence satisfactory to the Company be furnished that the said Floyd E. Farr, Jr. has entered college, in lieu of payment as hereinbefore provided, the amount then retained by the Company shall be paid in monthly instalments of $75.00 each; except that the amount of the instalments becoming payable in the months of February and September in each year subsequent to the Company’s acceptance of the aforementioned evidence of college entrance shall be increased to $175.00 each; said payment of interest and of instalments to be made in accordance with the conditions of said Settlement Options and of Options 2 and 3 thereunder;
“That during the lifetime of the said Mary Watson Farr evidence of continued attendance of the said Floyd E. Farr, Jr. at grade school, high school or college, as the case may be, shall be furnished the Company annually, and in default of such evidence said monthly interest or instalment payments, as the case may be, shall cease and payment of any amount then retained by the Company shall be made to the said Mary Watson Farr in the manner set out in the first paragraph of this Agreement;
“That the word ‘college’ as used herein is defined to mean an institution of higher learning, entrance into which is conditioned upon the completion of a standard high school curriculum;
“That all decisions upon questions of fact, arising at any time during settlement of this Policy made by the Company in good faith, based on proof by affidavit or other written evidence satisfactory to it, shall be conclusive and fully protect the Company in acting in reliance thereon.
“Attached to and made a part of Life Policy No. 842976.
“Dated as of August 6, 1937.”

Floyd E. Farr, Sr., died in the early part of the year 1939. The plaintiff has lived continuously with his mother, Jennie-Mason Farr. At the time the plaintiff filed this suit he was over the age of 18 and under the age of 21 years. He had been previously emancipated by a judgment of the District Court in Rapides Parish on July 29, 1939.

The defendant, the insurance company, paid the installments allocated to the plaintiff’s education to Marie Watson Farr from the death of the insured to the institution of this suit, which amounted to the sum of $262.50. Floyd E. Farr, Jr., only received from this amount the sum of $56.25 to be applied on 'his education which was sent to him by Marie Watson Farr, by means of a check, on August 23, 1939. The testimony of Floyd E. Farr, Jr., which is not contradicted, is to the effect that he did not receive the check until about two months after he had employed counsel to protect his interest in the policy. Since the filing of this suit all payments under the policy have been deposited in escrow *117 with the registry of the court, amounting to the sum of $800.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
200 So. 865, 197 La. 111, 1941 La. LEXIS 1020, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farr-v-pacific-mut-life-ins-co-la-1941.