Mable B. Tyrrell v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America.

Summary

The court reversed the judgment because the trial court improperly directed a verdict on the small policy, gave the jury an erroneous instruction allowing the seven-year presumption of death to aid proof that the insured died during an earlier policy period, and permitted an improper prejudicial statement by plaintiff's counsel. It upheld several evidentiary rulings, including admission of circumstantial evidence concerning the insured's disappearance and the plaintiff's explanation of allegations in a prior divorce proceeding. The court also adopted the rule that disputable presumptions merely shift the burden of producing evidence and disappear when sufficient contrary evidence is introduced.