Corcoran ex rel. Dill v. Mutual Life Insurance

Citations

• 183 Pa. 443
• 39 A. 50
• 1898 Pa. LEXIS 1063

Syllabus

<p>Insurance — Life insurance — - Notice of assignment — Waiver—Evidence— Question for jury.</p> <p>In an action against a life insurance company by the assignee of a policy of insurance containing a stipulation that “this company will not take notice of any assignment of this policy until a duplicate or certified copy thereof shall be delivered to the company at its principal office,” it was not claimed that a duplicate or certified copy of the assignment had been delivered, but it was averred that the company had waived the stipulation. The plaintiff offered evidence which tended to show that in accordance with instructions from the secretary of the company plaintiff had sent the policy and the assignment to the office of a general agent of the company; that in the absence of the general agent these papers were presented to a clerk in the office who took and examined them, walked a short distance to a book in which he appeared to make entries, and then returned to the messenger and handed the papers back to him. Held, that the evidence was for the jury to determine whether the company had waived the stipulation in the policy as to filing a duplicate or certified copy at the principal office.</p> <p>Evidence — Province of court and jury.</p> <p>If the evidence is direct and certain, presenting no question of credibility, and leaving no sufficient ground for inconsistent inference of fact, the court may be asked to instruct the jury as to its legal effect. But if it is uncertain, if it depends on the credibility of witnesses, and if there is room for drawing from it different inferences of fact, it must go to the jui'yi They must clear up the doubts, settle questions of credibility, draw the correct inferences, and give final shape to the findings of fact.</p> <p>Insurance — Life insurance — Assignment of policy as collateral security.</p> <p>Where an indorser of a promissory note to whom a policy of insurance has been assigned as collateral transfers the assignment