Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1876-11-02
Observation-Disclosures

Ihe n Nashville Life Insurance
Company has, the Axerican
tells us, transferred its policies
en- masse to a New York COM
pany. Allof the policy-holdere
were not consulted, if any.
Whether one of the parties to
a contract has the right, with
out the assent OF the other, to
set aside a substantial part of
the agreement by substituting
a third party for himself, is a
question for the courts to de-
termine. Considerable discus
sion has been going on, in In
surance circles as to the effect
Of a late decision Of Judge Gil
bert of the Supreme Court Of
New York, that no Life Insu-
rance Company has any right
to re insure its risks at whole
sale in another company. 9th
er decisions have been made
having the same bearing, but
the voice Of the Insurance press
is not unanimous in support of
the arguments. The Under
aUriter says:
Notwithstanding the commo
ton which was occasioned by his
decision, we gave little attention
to it. In the absence of legisla-
tive provision for reinsurance, we
have always believed that sooner
or later the grievances incident to
the process would be turned over
to the consideration Of the judici
ary.
"The evils and abuses Of ANAL,
gamation are as patent and as obi
Gus as ever We have repeatedly
expressed our detestation Of proc
ess by which policy holders are
transferred without their consent,
aud theirrelationship altered in de
fance of the absence Of legislative
warrant or chartered right, by
which obligations are avoided by
men who have been guilty of gross
Encouragement of trust, and by
which parties newly accepting the
trust receive it upon terms iusuffi-
cient for the risk incurred.
Several suits now pending in
the courts, and others soon to be
brought, will not only settle i'm
portant poin s of law affecting the
powers of the officers Of life com
panies aud of their individual re-
sponsibility for wrongful acts, but
may return thousands Of dollars
into the hands of those who had
supposed that their money was ir
recoverably lost.
"phe distrust of life insurance as
a system, engendered in the minds
of many by the actions OF somecom-
panies, is not exaggerated by Com
missioner Steadmau, of Connecti-
ticut, Row, OF Michigan, and 9th
ers, who have given close atten-
ton to the subject. 1t will be for
the benefit oil the sound compa
MES, in the aggregate. TO have Ger.
tain questions, now pending, deci-
ded in such a way that money
which has been placed with CON-
pauy as a trust fund shall find it's
way back to the person so placing
it, or shalI be so used as to inure to
his benefit, and the powers of life
comp tnies in managing and dispo-
sing OF such funds be strictly de-
fined. The power of a company
to transfer its assets, and of an
other company to receive them,
will be settled on appeal from de-
cision in the Supreme Court of
Kings county, published last
month. The right of a policy
holder to recover his premiums
withinterest from accompany which
has ceased to transact business will
also be settled by an appeal from
the same court. The suit against
the Universal Life and the compa.
MES which it has absorbed, with
their officers aud others, is one in
volving questions of fact rather
than Of law, as to the right Of Of
fcers to devote to private uses eny
OF the company'S accumulated pre-
miums Another suit has been
begun, but the papers have not
yet heen served. the object of
which is to establish the principle
that all persons engaged in the a.
malgamation of companies are
personally responsible to all who
are injured by such transactions,
not only TO the amount of the as
sets of the company which they
can be shown to have wrongfullyI
misapplied, but also for conser
quential damages.
Judge Pratt recently rendered,