24 F. 450 | E.D. Ark. | 1885
This case arose under tbe constitution and by-laws of the order in force in'3880. Tested by these laws the alleged suspension of Harrisburg lodge by the supreme reporter was a nullity. It was not merely irregular, but it was a void act. The constitution and by-laws then in force conferred no jurisdiction upon the supreme reporter to suspend subordinate lodges in any case, or for any offense; and his mandate suspending Harrisburg lodge had no more effect, inside or outside of the order, than if it had been made by one who did
“Karcher was suspended by the tribunal which he had chosen to determine the question according to rules to which he assented in becoming a member, and he received notice of the proceeding. The action of this tribunal according to its rules, on a question which it had authority to decide, honestly taken, after the requisite notice to him, cannot be collaterally reviewed in this court on the ground that facts existed which, if brought to the notice of the tribunal, would have warranted or required a different decision.”
None of the prerequisites here laid down as necessary to the validity and conclusiveness of a decree of one of these tribunals exists in the case at bar. By the laws of the order in force at the date of this transaction, neither Harrisburg lodge nor Hill consented that the supreme reporter should have jurisdiction to try and suspend lodges, with or without notice. The action of the supreme reporter in suspending Harrisburg lodge was not taken according to the laws of the organization; it was not a question which that officer had authority to decide, and it was, moreover, taken without notice. It was not merely an erroneous proceeding on the part of that officer, but a usurpation which cannot affect the legal rights or change the legal status of any one. Agnew v. Grand Lodge A. O. U. W. Missouri Court of Appeals, 1885. Harrisburg lodge was not required to appeal from such an order of suspension. The obligation to appeal is not imposed where the judgment is void for want of jurisdiction. It may be likened to a judgment rendered by a court which has no jurisdiction of the subject-matter or the person. No appeal or writ of error is necessary to get rid of such a judgment; it is void in all courts and places. The lodge, therefore, did right in ignoring the so-called sus
In the case of ordinary life policies, the company is under no obligation to give the assured notice of the amount and maturity of the premiums accruing on the policy, because the policy fixes definitely the amount of the premiums and the time of tlieir payment, and the assured is bound to know these facts. Thompson v. Insurance Co. 104 U. S. 252. But under the constitution of the Kniglits of Honor the amounts which the subordinate lodges and their members are liable to pay cannot be known in advance of the assessments made by the supreme lodge. The amount and frequency of the assessments depend on the mortality of the members of the order. The subordinate lodges forward proof of death of their members to the proper officers of the supreme lodge, who ascertain from these returns the amount necessary to be assessed upon the subordinate lodges, and through tliem upon their members, to pay the amounts due to the holders of benefit certificates. When this amount is ascertained, it is distributed and assessed on the several subordinate lodges. The constitution of the order requires notice of these assessments to be sent to each lodge. This is the only mode by which the subordinate lodges can be informed of the amount they are required to pay, and the time within which the payment is to be made. Until this is done, no liability is imposed upon a subordinate lodge or its members. Castner v. Farmers' Ins. Co. 15 N. W. Rep. 452, (Mich. 1883;) Bates v. Mutual Ben. Ass'n, 47 Mich. 646; Gellatly v. Mutual Ben. Ass’n, 27 Minn. 215; S. C. 6 N. W. Rep. 627.
The subordinate lodges and their members discharge their constitutional obligation to the W. & O. B. fund when they pay, upon due notice, the assessments made by the Supreme lodge to maintain that
Let judgment be entered for the plaintiffs for $2,000, with 6 per cent, interest from the first day of January, 1881.