McNeil v. Cobb

Headnote

Conversion — assignment of two policies of life insurance—false representations.

McNeil v. Cobb, 186 App. Div. 177 , affirmed.

Appeal from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the third judicial department, entered January 20, 1919, reversing a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a verdict and granting a new trial.' The action was brought by the plaintiff to recover damages for the alleged conversion of the proceeds of two policies of insurance for $1,000 each, issued by the Phcenix Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, the proceeds of which the defendants collected from the insurers after the death of the plaintiff’s husband, the insured, who died May 24, 1912. The policies were originally payable to the plaintiff, but were assigned to the defendant Mary A. Cobb on April 30, 1904. The defendants claim that the assignments were, and were intended to be, absolute assignments of the policies. The plaintiff claims that the assignments were procured on the false representations of the defendants that they were mere

assignments as collateral security for $100, which was loaned or paid to the plaintiff’s husband at the time of the assignments. The issue submitted to the. jury was practically narrowed down to the question whether the assignments were procured by fraud.