Anderson v. New York Life Insurance

Mrs. W. B. Anderson, a Widow, v. New York Life Insurance Co.

Anderson v. N.Y. Life Ins., 191 So. 307 (Fla. 1939)

Court: Supreme Court of Florida · State Highest Courts
Decided: October 6, 1939
Judges: Brown, Buford, Chapman, Compiled, Laws, Terrell, Thomas, Whitfield
Citations: 191 So. 307140 Fla. 1981939 Fla. LEXIS 1085

Cited by 9

Opinion of the Court — Per Curiam

Per Curiam. — Plaintiff in error brought a common law action' against the defendant in error to recover the double indemnity feature of a life insurance policy. The face of the policy was paid promptly but double indemnity was declined on the theory that the insured came to his death by suicide and not by accident. At the conclusion of the plaintiff’s testimony, there was an instructed verdict for the defendant and the plaintiff sued out writ of error.

The declaration was cast on the theory of accidental death. There were two pleas, one denied accidental death and the other offered suicide as a defense. The insured was found dead in a latrine at the back of his residence with a bullet through his head and his pistol by his feet.

The plaintiff in error relies on Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York v. Johnson, 122 Fla. 567 , 166 So. 442 , for reversal. The burden was first on the plaintiff to prove that the deceased came to his death by accidental means, this being her reliance for recovery. The defense of suicide must overcome this proof and maj' not come into the picture if a prima facie case on the basis of accidental death is not made. The evidence has been examined and while we do not feel called on to review it, we see no theory on' which it would support a verdict for double indemnity. A prima facie case not having been made on the ground claimed, the burden did not shift to the defendant to overcome that case with evidence on the defense of suicide.

*200 The judgment below is therefore affirmed.

Affirmed.

Whitfield, P. J., and Brown and Chapman, J. J., concur.

Terrell, C. J., concurs in opinion and judgment.

Justices Buford and Thomas not participating as authorized by Section 4687, Compiled General Laws of 1927, and Rule 21-A of the Rules of this Court.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

Cited by 9 cases

View all citing references →

Relies on it most ⓘ

Weinstock v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America247 So. 2d 503 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1971)
Southern Life & Health Insurance Company v. Medley161 So. 2d 19 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1964)
Hill v. American Home Assurance Co.193 So. 2d 638 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1966)
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company v. M. Patricia Breslin332 F.2d 928 (5th Cir. 1964)
Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York v. Bell3 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 1941)
World Insurance Company v. Kincaid145 So. 2d 268 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1962)

Most recent

Weinstock v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America247 So. 2d 503 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1971)
Hill v. American Home Assurance Co.193 So. 2d 638 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1966)
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company v. M. Patricia Breslin332 F.2d 928 (5th Cir. 1964)
Southern Life & Health Insurance Company v. Medley161 So. 2d 19 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1964)
Kincaid v. World Insurance Co.157 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 1963) · Dissent
World Insurance Company v. Kincaid145 So. 2d 268 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1962)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 1

Depth	Case	Cited by
	Mut. Life Ins. Co. of N.Y. v. Johnson, 166 So. 442 (Fla. 1935)	22

`/`	Focus the search box
`j` `k`	Next / previous result
`Enter`	Open the selected result
`x`	Add / remove the selected result from the download list
`n` `p`	Next / previous search term in a case
`c`	Copy the citation of the current case
`+` `−`	Larger / smaller reading text
`?`	Show this list