Ward Hunt

“ All the special matters thus set forth are matters in defence, and the burden of proving their truth rested upon the defendant. If this application formed the basis of the contract of insurance, the defendant should have made proof to that effect at the trial. If the plaintiff had stipulated that any untrue statement (whether material or not, whether wilfully false or mistakenly untrue) should destroy his policy, the defendant should have proved at the trial a fact so material. ”

“ The only information we can obtain of the contents of the policy is from the complaint and the answer. The complaint, not referring to any application, alleges the execution of a policy of insurance for the sum of $10,000 upon the lives of Baker and his wife, in consideration of the payment of the sum of $412.20 at the time of its issuance, and of the future annual payment of the same sum; alleges the death of the wife, notice to the company, the service of proofs, and performance of all the conditions required. ”

“ The facts upon which the requests to charge, not appearing by the record, cannot be assumed to exist; and, without examining whether they were properly refused, if the facts had been shown, we can give them no consideration.
The second general objection of the defendant is based upon an alleged error in admitting evidence of what took place when the answers to the questions already referred to were written in an application for insurance. These questions were put and the answers were written down by Dr. Wells, the agent of the insurance company, and the application was signed by Mrs. Baker. ”