Osterman v. District Grand Lodge No. 4

Citations

• 5 Cal. Unrep. 237
• 43 P. 412
• 1896 Cal. LEXIS 1105

Syllabus

<p>Endowment Benefit—Pleading—-Burden of Proof.—A mutual endowment society, by alleging in its answer to an action to recover an endowment that the conditions of the contract, made by its law conditions predeeent to recovery, have been fulfilled by the assured, “except as hereinafter set forth,” assumes the burden of alleging and proving nonperformance of such conditions by the assured.1</p> <p>Endowment Benefit—Suspension and Forfeiture.—Where the Laws of a mutual endowment association make suspension for nonpayment of dues a forfeiture of membership benefits, and provide a formal method for suspension in such case, nonpayment of dues will not, ipso facto, work a forfeiture, though the assured was secretary of the society, and formal proceedings for suspension have not been had because he failed, as required, to report his own delinquency.</p> <p>Endowment Benefit—Payment.—In an Action by a Wife Against a grand lodge—whose laws made membership in a subordinate lodge, and an election as member of the endowment fund, conditions precedent to a right to participate therein—to recover an endowment on her husband’s membership, it appeared that, on report of the husband’s death to the grand by the subordinate lodge, the grand lodge sent the amount due to the subordinate lodge, to be paid, “through the trustees,” to plaintiff; that the trustees, prior to its receipt, obtained from her an order to deduct from the amount due sufficient to make good defalcations of her husband, which, as one of them testified they told her, would amount to at least $1,000. The wife testified that they said it would be about $5’00. The trustees subsequently obtained her receipt for the whole amount, on representations that it was necessary to procure the money from the defendant. Plaintiff, failing to receive the money, demanded it from defendant, and defendant, then first learning that plaintiff’s husband was not in good standing at his death, directed the trustees of the subordinate lodge to