Protection Life Insurance v. Dill

Citations

• 91 Ill. 174

Syllabus

<p>1. Evidence—secondary. Where a policy of insurance sued on is not in the possession of the plaintiff but of the defendant, and is mislaid so that it can not be produced, parol evidence on the part of the plaintiff is competent to establish the execution and contents of the policy, and if the evidence tends to prove such facts, there is no error in refusing a motion to exclude the same.</p> <p>2. Where a policy of insurance is shown to have been lost, and parol evidence of its contents given to the jury by the plaintiff, it is error to refuse to allow the defendant to introduce in evidence a book of the company containing the date of the policy, amount of insurance, to whom payable, name of the assured, etc., which is shown to be a substan tial copy of the policy made by an officer of the company, and taken from the policy before its delivery. Such book, with the testimony of the officer who made the entry from the policy, seems to be the best secondary evidence of the contents of the policy.</p> <p>3. Same—boohs of private corporation. The books of an insurance company organized on the mutual plan, whereby a party assured becomes a member, are competent evidence against the holder of a policy, though it might not be against a stranger.</p> <p>4. Instruction—as to evidence. The court has no right to instruct the jury that there is no evidence to prove a certain fact where there is any evidence tending to prove such fact, and thus take such evidence from the consideration of the jury.</p> <p>5. Same—singling out isolated fact. An instruction is faulty and properly refused which singles out an isolated fact, and especially calls the attention of the jury to it.</p> <p>6. Same—as to degree of evidence required. There is no error in refusing an instruction in a civil suit which, in effect, tells the jury that certain facts must be established by satisfactory evidence and by a preponderance of the evidence, or the plaintiff can not recover. Such an instruction is calcu