This website requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings, or use a different web browser like Google Chrome or Safari.

Options

From our private database of 35,600+ case briefs...

Bill v. Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co.

Iowa Supreme Court

119 N.W.2d 768 (1963)

Facts

Ernest and Norma Bill (the Bills) (plaintiffs) owned a life-insurance policy on the life of their son, LeRoy Bill. LeRoy’s body was found hanging in a barn. After LeRoy’s death, the insurer, Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company (Farm Bureau) (defendant) denied the Bills’ claim on the ground that LeRoy had committed suicide, which voided the policy. The Bills sued Farm Bureau to recover, asserting that LeRoy did not die by suicide. At trial, Farm Bureau sought to introduce testimony of the medical examiner, Dr. Willis Dankle. Dankle was prepared to testify that on the day LeRoy’s body was found, Dankle asked Ernest “if there were any doubt in his mind that his son committed suicide,” and Ernest responded by shaking his head from side to side. The trial court declined to permit the introduction of the evidence on the ground that, under the circumstances, it was unclear what exactly Ernest meant by the head shake. The jury returned a verdict for the Bills. Farm Bureau appealed.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (Thompson, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.
You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 618,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.
Unlock this case brief Read our student testimonials
Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.
Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.
Learn about our approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 618,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 35,600 briefs, keyed to 984 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Here's why 618,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
35,600 briefs - keyed to 984 casebooks
Uniform format for every case brief
Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
Top-notch customer support