Henken v. Monaghan — 49 N.Y. St. Rep. 358

Majority

p. 358

Henry Henken, App’lt, v. Alice Monaghan, Impl’d, Resp’t.

(Supreme Court, General Term, Second Department,

Filed December 12, 1892.)

Headnote

Benefit societies—Change of appointment—Competency of insubed.

Plaintiff and his wife insured their lives, making each other beneficiaries, respectively, and plaintiff paid all the assessments. While plaintiff was sick in hospilal, and a few hours before the wife’s death, the latter made a change in the appointment to respondent, her sister, who had not visited her for nine years before. The appointment was witnessed by the president and secretary of the company, one of whom asked her if she knew them, and she said she did, but there was evidence that about that time she said yes to every question, and her physician testified that her condition was bad at„that time. Held, that the question of her competency to make the change was one for the jury, and that it was error to direct a verdict for the respondent.

Appeal from judgment in favor of Alice Monaghan for costs and awarding her the sum of $469 insurance moneys held by the Provident Associntion of Newtown, L. I.

John Fleming, for app’lt; B. W. Downing, for resp’t.

This is an appeal from an order made at circuit directing a verdict for plaintiff in an action to recover money upon a so-called life insurance policy, and to set aside a pretended _ appointment made to the respondent by the deceased beneficiary under the policy.

The circumstances under which the appointment was obtained

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by the respondent made it a proper case to be submitted for determination by a jury.

The plaintiff was absent from home, and his wife, the beneficiary, was so ill that she died a few hours after the appointment was executed.

It also appeared that the respondent, who was a sister of the deceased, although living but a short distance, had not visited the deceased for about nine years, until three days before her death.

It may well be that a jury might find that the deceased could not have been in her right mind when she executed the appointment, or that she, in her weak condition, yielded to undue influence exercised by the respondent.

This view is strengthened by the fact that the plaintiff paid all the assessments on his wife’s policy and he and his wife had each appointed the other beneficiaries under like policies.

The doctor who attended her testified she was in a very bad condition, and other witnesses state that during the last two days of her illness she did not speak except to say “yes.”

Under such circumstances we think it was error to direct a verdict. .

Judgment reversed and new trial ordered, costs to abide event.

The case shows that Henry Henken and his wife, Mary Henken, each at the same time became members of the Provident Association of Newtown, a benevolent association incorporated under the laws of New York. Each appointed the other the beneficiary to receive the benefits in case of the death of the member. Mary Henken died early in the morning of March 21, 1891, and in the evening before, and late in the evening, she revoked the appointment of her husband as beneficiary and substituted the defendant, Alice Monaghan, in his place. The question is whether there was any evidence to go to a jury as to the competency of the deceased to make this revocation. The evidence of incompetency was sufficient to go to the jury. The instrument changing the beneficiary was witnessed by the president and secretary of the association. The president asked the'deceased if she knew Mr. Murphy, and she said she did.- She was» asked if she knew a Mr. Freeman, and she said she did not. The deceased stated that she wished to make the transfer to her sister by the same answer which she made to the two other questions, “yes.” No other test of her capacity was made The physician testifies against her capacity and a Mrs. Schaup testified that in the-morning of the day before the death of Mrs. Henken she did not recognize her, an old acquaintance, and would answer “ yes ” to everything which was said to her. Mrs. Butzner, another old acquaintance, gave evidence tending to show total incapacity to understand anything which was said to her. The proof of the facts surrounding the execution of the paper is not very explicit. The deceased left a young daughter and there is no reason why an understanding, capable mother, deprived her of this little property, all she had.

p. 360

The judgment should be reversed and a new trial granted, costs to abide event.

Dykman, J., not sitting.