264 Pa. 415 | Pa. | 1919
Opinion by
This bill in equity is by an administrator to recover death benefits from a beneficial society. In 1883 the defendant was organized as an unincorporated beneficial association, made up exclusively of the employees of the Midvale Steel Company of Philadelphia, and so continued until 1916 when it became chartered as a Pennsylvania corporation. The deceased, Manuel Andre Monteiro (sometimes called Manuel Monte), an employee of the company, became a member of the society in 1910,
The able presentation of appellant’s case has failed to convince us of error in the conclusion of the trial court. A beneficial society, like defendant, is not an insurance company (Heasley v. Heasley, 191 Pa. 539; Northwest-
The contention that plaintiff can maintain the action for the benefit of Monteiro’s mother cannot be sustained. She was not named as a beneficiary — the son might have so designated her but did not — and she as next of kin has no legal claim upon the fund, recoverable directly or through an administrator. Were this a life insurance contract, then, in the absence of a duly constituted beneficiary, the administrator of the insured’s estate might recover same for the benefit of those legally entitled, but that rule does not apply to a beneficial society. As our conclusion upon this branch of the case is fatal to plaintiff’s action, it is not necessary to consider the other questions raised in the record.
The appeal is dismissed at the costs of appellant.