Memphis Daily Appeal

IMPORTANT DECISION.

In the New York Court of Common Pleas, Friday afternoon, at special term, Judge Daly gave an important decision in the suit of Catherine N. Horton against the Equitable Life Assurance Society, of that city. The husband of the plaintiff fell from a wagon and sustained fatal injuries, while in a state of intoxication, and she sued the company for the payment of a policy of $5000, issued by the defendants, upon his life. The company, in their answer, allege that the insured, when he took the policy, gave a written warranty that he was not addicted to the use of spirituous liquors. The warranty, they urge, was evidently false, and as they would not have insured a man who was habitually intemperate, they were not bound to fulfil their part of the contract. Judge Daly decided that the warranty given by the insured was affirmative, not promissory, and that it bore reference only to the time when it was made. He therefore granted the motion of the plaintiff to strike out the allegation in the answer of the company relating to the manner in which the insured came to his death.