Eastern Law Reporter, Canada; Containing Judgements of the Courts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, Together with a Selection of ... of the Privy Council, Supreme and Volume 12

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913 edition. Excerpt: ...has become vested in the appellants this right is one which they can only assert as creditors of the company in the insolvency proceedings in Massachusetts and that in' the actions with which we are concerned on these appeals they are liable for the full amount of their premium notes. The appellants by accepting these policies became by the by-laws of the company of which they had notice in the policies, members of the corporation. By virtue of the contract of insurance the insured stands in a two-fold relation to the company and the other policy holders. To the extent of his own policy he is insured; to the extent of his own premium note he is an insurer in the sense that he is a holder of unpaid capital in respect of which he is entitled to share in the profits of the company, and to the extent of that capital he is liable to contribute to the discharge of the obligations of the company. That this, according to the settled law of Massachusetts, is the position of the appellants is put beyond dispute by the decision of the Supreme Court of that State in Hill v. Baker, 205 Mass. 303, and the oases therein referred to; and it is, of course, indisputable that the appellants being members of the respondent corporation their relations, as members of the corporation, to the corporation itself as well as to other members of the corporation as such, are governed by the laws of Massachusetts. By the law of that State the premiums paid or absolutely agreed to be paid by the members for their 'policies constitute a fund for the payment of losses; and the principle is the same whether the payment is-in cash or by note, so long as the policy is issued upon the mutual 'principle to one who by accepting the insurance becomes a member...