Berry v. Knights Templars' & Masons' Life Indemnity Co.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 federal appellate · 1 district ·

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Corporations aro artificial creations, and have no natural rights, and their constitutional and legal rights, in some respects, fall short of those of natural persons. A state cannot deny to the citizens of other states the right to do business within its limits, but it may deny such right absolutely to corporations of other states, or it may admit them to do business on such terms and conditions as it is pleased to prescribe; and, when an insurance company of one state does business in another, the laws of the latter prescribing the terms and conditions upon which it is allowed to do business in toe state are obligatory upon it. These conditions may extend to the form and legal effect of the company’s policies; and if, in toe course of its business in toe state it issues policies on the lives or on the property of the citizens of the state which contain conditions prohibited by or in contravention of too laws of the state, such conditions are void. Doing business in the state brings the policy within toe operation of its laws, notwithstanding toe policy may be signed, and the loss made payable, in another state. In such cases the company cannot, by any contrivance or device whatever, evade the effect and operations of the laws of toe state where It is doing business. Wall v. Society, 32 Fed. Rep. 273 .””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mutual Ben. Life Ins. v. Robison

2. ““The petition further alleges that the policy was .delivered in Missouri; and the answer admits that the policy was ‘at the request1 of th£ said Wall, transmitted to the state of Missouri and was delivered to said Wall in said state.’ If this form of admission does not imply that the policy was at the request of Wall transmuted to another person, perhaps the company’s agent, in Missouri, and by him there delivered to Wall, it is quite consistent with such a stale of facts; and there is no evidence whatever, or-even averment, that the policy was transmitted by mail directly to Wall, or that the company signified to Wall its acceptance of his application in any other way than by the delivery of the policy to him in Missouri. Upon this record, the conclusion is inevitable that the policy never became a completed contract, binding either party to it, until the delivery of the policy and (he payment of the first premium in Missouri; and consequently that the policy is a Missouri contract and governed by the laws of Missouri.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lamson Bros. & Co. v. Bane

3. “It is contended that the provision in the policy, declaring that it shall be void if the assured commits suicide, is a waiver or nullification of the statute which declares such a stipulation in a policy 'shall be void.’ The statute is mandatory and obligatory alike on the insurance company and the assured. Its very object was to -prohibit and annul such stipulations in policies, and it cannot be waived or abrogated-by any form of contract or by any device whatever. The legislative will, when expressed in the peremptory terms of this statute, is paramount and absolute, and cannot be varied or waived by the private conventions of the parties.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Whitfield v. Ætna Life Insurance