UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE

U.S. Supreme Court

Klein v. Insurance Company, 104 U.S. 88 (1881)

Klein v. Insurance Company

104 U.S. 88

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED

STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

Syllabus

1. Where a penalty or a forfeiture is inserted in a contract merely to secure the performance or enjoyment of a collateral object, the latter is considered as the principal intent of the instrument and the penalty is deemed only as accessory.

2. A condition in a policy of life insurance that if the stipulated premium shall not be paid on or before a certain day, the policy shall cease and determine is of the very essence and substance of the contract. Against a forfeiture caused by failure so to pay a court of equity cannot relieve.