78 Md. 59 | Md. | 1893
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The appeal in this case is taken from a decree of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City. The facts disclosed by the record are that Albert B. Faulkner, a member of the firm of Bruff, Maddux & Faulkner, sometime in the month of January, 1885, applied to the appellee, who was the senior member of the firm of Hurst, Purnell & Co. for a loan of two thousand dollars. The appellee said he had no money to loan, but that he would loan him the firm’s money to the amount requested, if he could be convinced that he was safe in so doing. Faulkner assured him of the solvency of his firm, and succeeded in obtaining the loan. Within thirty days after this transaction, the firm of Bruff, Maddux & Faulkner assigned for the benefit of creditors, and in the April following effected a compromise with their creditors, at forty cents in the dollar. The appellee’s firm
Phila., April 21st, 1886.
Mr. John E. Hurst,
Baltimore, Md.
Dear Sir: — Last June I offered to transfer to you a policy of insurance on my life, as security for the balance of the amount due you by B. M. & F., but you said you preferred not to take it then, because Mr. Bruff had agreed to pay you the balance of the debt; as he has failed to carry out the compromise, I hand you herewith the policy, viz., Policy No. 33838 in the Mutual Reserve Fund Life Assn., of N. Y., for $1,500.00, which I trust you will accept and hold as the best security I can offer you now. Please acknowledge receipt and be kind enough to let me know how much has been paid to you.
I enclose assignment of the policy in duplicate, one of which I think has to go to the Co. in N. Y., and if these are not properly drawn, will you please have two properly drawn by the agent in Balto., and forwarded to me and I will execute them at once.
Yours respectfully, A. B. Faulknjsr.
For value received, I do hereby assign, transfer and set over unto John E. Hurst, of Baltimore City, the above named certificate of membership, and all sums of money, interest, benefit and advantage whatsoever now due, or hereafter to arise, or to be had or made by virtue thereof, to have and to hold unto the said John E. Hurst.
In witness thereof I hereunto set my hand and seal, this twenty-first of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six.
Alfred B. Faulkner, (l, s.)
The “Mutual Reserve Fund Life Association,” hereby consent to the above assignment, subject to the conditions of the certificate.
New York, May 5th, 1886.
J. M. Stevenson, Asst. Secretary.
Our attention has been called to the latter part of the seventh condition of the Certificate, which is in the following words : “An insurable interest must be shown by all claimants, at time of claim hereunder, and claims by any creditor as beneficiary or assignee, shall not exceed the amount of the actual bona fide indebtedness of the member to him, together with any payment made to the association under this certificate by such creditor, with interest at six per cent., and this certificate as to all amounts in excess thereof shall be void.” It is claimed by the appellants, but we think erroneously, that the appellee is by this condition required to show that he is a bona fide creditor of the assured. If the controversy here was between the appellee and the association, then there might be some force in the argument, as the condition is intended for its own protection, but in this case, the company is no longer a substantial party, having filed its bill of interpleader and disclaimed having any interest whatever in the controversy, and declared its willingness to pay the avails of the policy to any person entitled to the same, and having, by order of the Court, paid the same into the registry of the Court, to abide the determination of the suit, it is no longer interested in its determination. The parties controverting on this appeal are the two children of Mr. Faulkner, who died in J une, 1891, and his personal representative, George W. Robin
First. — Because he was not a creditor of said Faulkner, nor of his firm.
Second. — Because the policy was payable to “the legal representatives of Alfred B. Faulkner (self.)”
Third. — Because he took no interest in said policy in virtue of the assignment thereof.
Some consideration has already been given to the first proposition, but we may add that this Court has never» when called upon, hesitated to say, that a moral obligation is a sufficient consideration to support a promise to pay. State vs. Reigart, 1 Gill, 26 ; Ellicott vs. Peterson’s Ex’rs, 4 Md., 492; Ingersoll vs. Martin, 58 Md., 75; Drury and Wife vs. Briscoe and Randall, 42 Md., 154.
In Hawkes vs. Saunders, Cowpers Rep., 290, Lord Mansrleld says: “When a,man is under a moral obligation, which no Court of equity can enforce, and promises, the honesty and rectitude, of the thing is a consideration.” Fau.lkn'er obtained from the appellee the loan of two thousand dollars by false representations ; he thereby placed himself under a moral obligation which did not rest upon his firm, for he alone, and not his co-partners, made the false statements, and he has repeatedly recognized the fact, and promised to make good his dere
The second and third propositions necessarily involve much the same consideration, and may properly be treated together.
’ The policy declares that upon the death of the insured there shall be payable “to his legal representatives,” the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, and the appellants’ contention is, that the precise form of policy as the one in the record, was passed upon by the Court of Appeals of New York, in Griswold vs. Sawyer, et al., 125 N. Y., 411, when the Court held that such a policy can only be assigned by the consent of the beneficiaries named therein, and that the term, “legal representatives” as employed in the policy, means the children or heirs-at-law of the deceased. The decision in this case reverses, 8 N. Y. Supp., 517, and Andrews and Gray, J. J., dissent, and is a case where the aged and heavily indebted father of a family, dependent on him for support, takes a policy of insurance upon his life, payable to his “legal representatives. ” The Court held that it was payable to his wife and children, as it would be presumed that under the circumstances the insured intended to describe them by that term, rather than his “executors or administrators.” Now in this case if we are to resort to inference or presumption to ascertain what Faulkner’s intentions were in taking out this insurance upon his life, and to what uses he intended to apply the same, it is only necessary to examine the testimony in the record to ascertain that his sole object was to reimburse the appellee the amount which he had paid. But this policy must be considered not in segregated parts but as a whole, in order that a proper understanding of its meaning may be arrived at. Whilst the words “legal representatives” have a well recognized meaning in the law and ordinarily siginify
This Court in New York Life Insurance Co. vs. Flack, 3 Md., 341, has passed upon this question, and the Supreme Court of the United States, in New York Mutual Life Ins. Co. vs. Armstrong, 111 U. S., 591, affirming the doctrine of the above Maryland case, which it in terms approves, says: “The term ‘legal representatives' is not necessarily restricted to the personal representatives of one deceased, but is sufficiently broad to cover all persons who, with respect to his property, stand in his place, and represent his interests, whether transferred to them by his act, or by operation of law. It may in this case include assigns, as well as executors and administrators.” Lodge vs. Weld, 139 Mass., 504; Price vs. Strange, 6 Madd., 159.
Other questions of minor importance, but in no sense controlling the determination which we think should be made of this case, have been brought to our attention, but we forbear further discussion, as we entertain no doubt as to the correctness of the decree passed by the Court below, which must be affirmed.
Decree affirmed.