O'Brien v. Equitable Life Assur. Soc'y
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
212 F.2d 383 (1954)
Mrs. O'Brien (plaintiff) sued Equitable Life Assurance Society (defendant) for double indemnity benefits, relying on the legal presumption that a violent death is accidental to establish her prima facie case that her husband's killing was accidental. Equitable countered with substantial evidence suggesting the husband was killed while committing a criminal assault, and O'Brien could only cast doubt on that evidence without offering substantial evidence of her own to rebut it; the trial court directed a verdict for Equitable, and O'Brien appealed.
Whether a legal presumption of accidental death, once rebutted by substantial contrary evidence from the defendant, still supports a plaintiff's prima facie case for jury consideration absent independent evidence.