Connecticut western news., 1909-01-21
TRIED ID COLLECT
 DOUBLE INSURANCE
ON THE HOTEL IN KENT, CONN.
Insurance Companies Paid the Loss After Which Suit was Brought to Recover From Railroad Company for Setting Fire to Buildings.

10 heCoVer From hdllr0a0 company
 for Setting Fire to Buildings.
 A decision of the greatest ims ortance to the insurance companies as we'll as to those insured by them, has been rendered by the Superior Court at Bridgeport.
 In May, 1903, The Phoenix Insurance Go. of Hartford and The Continental Insurance Go. of New York insured the hotel building at Kent for the sum of $3O00. The Royal Insurance Go. of Liverpool and The Commercial Union Assurance Go. of London insured the personal property i'll the hotel for $1200. The following year, on the 2Sth of March, the property was all destroyed by fire. The insurance had been effected through The N. A. McNeil Go. of Lime Rock.
 After the fire, Mrs. Cary executed proofs of loss and the comp lnies paid her the full amount l., e. $3000 on the hotel and upon her personal property $1200 making the total paid by the companies $4200
 Soon after the fire, Mrs. Cary's son, William E. Brittin saw a lawyer from New Haven named Caleb A. Morse who 1t seems, visited Kent within few days and arrangements were made between Morse and Brlttin whereby Morse was to commence suit against the N. Y, N. H. 6 H. R. R. O., for the destruction Of this property by fire communicated from their engines. The agreement was that Morse should take the case. pay all Errors if necessary, and to have one-half of what he recovered and if there was no recovery, he was to receive nothing and be out the money he had expended. Morse, commenced suit i'll behalf of Mrs Cary against the Railroad Co.,, and the case was, in April, 1905, tried in the Superior Court at New Milford before 8 jury. The jury rendered verdict in favor of Mrs. Cary for $5,7I9.04-the total loss she had sustained, and her costs. A motion was made by the attorneys for the railroad company to set by the verdict. The Insurance Com panies then retained L. Nickerson of West Cornwall and various proceed ings were had and, an injunction was obtained for the Phoenix company re- straining the payment of the judgment by the railroad company and tt collec- tiop or assignment of it by either Mrs. Cary or Morse.
 This case was brought to the Superior Court at Bridgeport. It developed that Mrs. Cary, two days after the rendition of the verdict, assigned the judgment to Morse, and Morse claimed to have assigned it to the Metropolis Mfg. Go. of New Haven. The suit as bitterly con. tested before the Superior Court ill Fair field county, the insurance companies claiming that the assignment was fraud ulent and void as against them and that they were intereste1 in the judgment, and that the Court should order paid to thern from the amount of the judgment, the money they had paid to Mrs. Cary.
 To obtain the end sought, it was necessary that there should be a judg- ment first rendered ordering all parties claiming any interest in the judgement to set forth their respective claims ill court. That matter was tried before Judge Roraback in the Superior Court in December, 1907 and resulted ln a judgment ordering the Railroad Com panY to pay the amount of the judgment and costs less $100 tor its expenses, into the hands of the Clerk of Court. In railroad company was then discharged from all further responsibility Mrs Cary, MT. Morse and the insurance com- panies were ordered to forth statement of their respective claims. That judg ment was carried by Mrs. Cary and Morse to the Supreme Court of Errors which sustained the judgment of Judge Roraback. The Insurance Companies set forth a statement of their claims em- braoing the payment of the money to Mrs. Cary as insurance; claimed to re- cover from her out of the judgment against the Railroad Co.,, the full amount of the money they had paid to her as insurance.
 Morse and Mrs. Cary set forth their claims that the judgement had been assigned, that he was the owner of it, tha. he had lien on it for fees and ex- pens s, and requested that it all be paid ! to h m. The case was tried in the early part O December, 1908 at Bridgeport, before Judge Reed.
 ! MT. Nickerson, representing the in surauc3 companits, ,l imed that the cont act testified to by Morse regarding