Minnesota Life Ins. Co. v. Rings

David Rings shot his wife Teresa and then himself, and experts could not determine who died first; David's two employer-provided life-insurance policies named Teresa as sole beneficiary but required her to be alive on his date of death to collect, while stating that if both died simultaneously, benefits would be paid as though David had survived Teresa. Minnesota Life Insurance Company (plaintiff) petitioned the court to decide whether the death benefits should go to David's mother, Judy Rings (codefendant), as his closest surviving relative, or to Teresa's son, Chase Lee (codefendant), through Teresa's estate.