New York Life Ins. Co. v. Dunlevy

241 U.S. 518 (1916)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Dunlevy (P) filed this suit in a California court on January 14, 1910, against the New York Life Insurance Co. (D) and Gould (D1) to recover the surrender value of a life insurance policy. Gould was P's father. P claimed that D1 had assigned her the proceeds. P got a judgment for $2,479.70, the amount of the surrender value. The circuit court of appeals affirmed the decision. D claimed that P was precluded from recovery by certain judicial proceedings in Pennsylvania where the proceeds had been garnished, and D1 had been determined to be owner. In 1907, Boggs & Buhl recovered a personal judgment by default against P in a Pennsylvania court. In November 1909, Boggs & Buhl attempted to attach the proceeds from the insurance policy in order to satisfy their judgment. D and D1 were summoned as garnishees. After suit had begun in California, D admitted that they owed the proceeds to someone and attempted interpleader. D was allowed to pay the proceeds to the court in Pennsylvania. P received notice of this action but did not appear on the interpleader. P appeared at the trial in Pennsylvania. That court held that D1 had not assigned the proceeds to P, and D1 was awarded the monies. P claimed that the interpleader was invalid; no personal jurisdiction. D maintained that the Pennsylvania court had jurisdiction over P; the right to the money had been determined in a garnishment proceeding to satisfy a judgment against P. Because the Pennsylvania court had jurisdiction over P for the first action, it also had jurisdiction over P to satisfy the judgment against her. D appealed the California decision.