# Appendix — United States v. Lawson

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA43086415_0997%3A06

## Record

- **Collection:** Supreme Court brief
- **Document type:** Appendix
- **Published:** January 1, 1942
- **Citation:** 316 U.S. 674

## Text

APPENDIX

| The first authority to grant war risk insurance
was that contained in the Act of October 6, 1917,
c. 105, Sec. 2, 40 Stat. 399, 409-410, amending the
War Risk Insurance Act by adding the following
sections, among others:

Sec. 400. That in order to give to every
commissioned officer and enlisted man and
to every member of the Army Nurse Corps
(female) and of the Navy Nurse Corps
(female) when employed in active service .
under the War Department or Navy De-
, partment greater protection for themselves
and their dependents than is provided in
Article III, the United States, upon appli-
cation to the bureau and without medical
examination, shall grant insurance against
the death or total permanent disability of
any such person in any multiple of $500, and
: not less than $1,000, or more than $10,000
i upon the payment of the premiums as here-
; inafter provided.

Sec. 402. That the director, subject to the
general direction of the Secretary of the
Treasury, shall promptly determine upon
and publish the full and exact terms and
conditions of such contract of insurance.
The insurance shall * * * be payable
| only to a spouse, child, grandchild, parent,
, brother, or sister, and also during total and
| permanent disability to the injured person,
or to any or all of them. The insurance
shall be payable in two hundred and weed
equal monthly installments. * *

(18)

19

Bulletin No. 1 (Regulations and Procedure,
U.S. Veterans’ Bureau (1930), Part IT, pp. 1233,
1235) was promulgated by the Director of the Bu-
reau of War Risk Insurance, Treasury Depart-
ment, on October 15, 1917, and provides, in part, as
follows:

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, TREASURY
DEPARTMENT, BUREAU OF WAR RISK INSUR-
ANCE

Under the authority granted by Congress
in an act * * * and subject in all re-
spects to the provisions of such act, of any
amendments thereto, and of all regulations
thereunder, now in force or hereafter
adopted, all of which, together with this pol-
icy, the application therefor, and the terms
and conditions published under authority of
the act, shall constitute the contract: _

Hereby insures from and after the
day of »19 ,John Doe, * * *
conditioned upon the payment of premiums
as herein provided, for the principal amount
of $5,000 converted into monthly installments
of $28.75 (the equivalent, when paid for 240
months, of the sum insured, on the basis of
interest at the rate of 314 nercent per an-
num), payable—

To the insured, if he/she, while this in-
surance is in force, shall become totally and
permanently disabled, commencing with
such disability as established by the award
of the director of the bureau and continu-
ing during such disability ; and

To the beneficiary or beneficiaries here-
inafter designated, commencing upon the
death of the insured, while the insurance is
in force, and (except as otherwise provided )
coutinuing for 240 months if no installments

20

have been paid for total and permanent dis-
ability or if any such installments have been
paid, then for a number of monthis sufficient
to make 240 inall: * * *.

Section 304 of the World War Veterans’ Act,
1924, as amended (U. 8S. C., Title 38, See. 515)
provides, in part:

In the event that all provisions of the rules
and regulations other than the requirements
as to the physical condition of the applicant
for insurance have been complied with an
application for reinstatement, in whole or
in part, of lapsed or canceled yearly renew-
able term insurance or United States Gov-
ernment life insurance (eonverted insur-
ance) made after June 7, 1924, may be ap-
proved if made within one year after July
2 1926, or within two years after the date
of lapse or cancellation: Provided, That the
applicant's disability is the result of an in-
jury or disease, or of an aggravation thereof,
suffered or contracted in the active military
or naval service during the World War:
Provided further, That the applicant during
his lifetime submits proof satisfactory to the
Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs showing
that he is not totally and permanently dis-
abled. As a condition, however, to the ae-
ceptance of an application for the reinstate-
ment of lapsed or canceled yearly renewable
term insurance, where the requirements as
to the physical condition of the applicant
have not been complied with, or, for the re-
instatement of the United States Govern-
ment life insurance (converted insurance),
the applicant shall be required to pay all the
back monthly premiums which would have
become payable if such insurance had not

21

lapsed, together with interest at the rate
of 5 per centum per annum, compounded
annually, on each premium from the date
said premium is due by the terms of the
Deere. * 7.
Section 205 of the World War Veterans’ Act,
1924 (U.S. C., Title 38, See. 494) provides:

Upon its own motion or upon application
the bureau may at any time review an award
and, in accordance with the facts found upon
such review, may end, diminish, or increase
the compensation previously awarded, or,
if compensation is increased, or if compen-
sation has been refused, reduced, or discon-
tinued, may (subject to the provisions of
Section 210 hereof) award compensation in
proportion to the degree of disability sus-
tained as of the date such degree of dis-
ability began, but not earlier than the date
of discharge or resignation. Except in
cases of fraud participated in by the bene-
ficiary, no reduction in compensation shall
be made retroactive, and no reduction or
discontinuance of compensation shall be
effective until the Ist day of the third ealen-
dar month next succeeding that in which
such reduction or discontinuance — is
determined.

22

Letter from the Administrator of Veterans’
Affairs to the Solicitor General:

3 Office of
The Administrator of
Veterans’ Affairs

VETERANS’ ADMINISTRATION,
Washington, January 14, 1941.

Honorable Francis Bippie,
The Solicitor General,
Department of Justice,
Washington, D.C.

My Dear Mr. Souicrror GENERAL: I have
your letter of January 11, 1941, in which
you inform me that you have under con-
sideration the question of filing a petition
for a Writ Certiorari in the case of Harry
Florian, Executor of the Last Will and Test-
ament of Anton Florian, Deceased Benefi-
ciary, Plaintiff-Appellant, vs. The United
States of America, Defendant-Appellee, and
inquire concerning the relation of that deci-
sion to the Administration’s practice and the
cost which might result from an administra-
tive application of the decision.

The point raised in Florian vs. The United
States has not been the subject of a specifie
formal administrative decision or written
issue, for the reason that such a declaration or
issue Was not regarded as necessary. Untilthe
present case the administrative interpreta-
tion on this point has never been questioned.”
The Veterans’ Administration and its prede-

*In this connection it should be noted that the various
service organizations have had access to the files of the
Veterans’ Administration by specific authority of statute
(see U. S. C., Title 38, Sections 456, 551) and, of course,
could not have been unaware of this interpretation.

23

cessors consistently adhered to the view that
Section 305 of the World War Veterans’ Act
contained no provision, either express or by
implication, for the revival of insurance
under a yearly renewable term contract by
reason of compensation arising subsequent to
the total permanent disability of the insured.
This practice has continued without change
under the several amendments to Section 305,
originally enacted June 7, 1924 and amended
in various particulars July 2, 1926 and May
29, 1928. The Section in its original form and
as it now stands contains no language which,
in the opinion of the Veterans’ Administra-
tion, indicates any intention to alter or
modify the administrative procedure in this
particular. Consequently, the decision of the
Cireuit Court of Appeals in the Florian ease
is unmistakably contrary to long continued
and uninterrupted administrative practice.

It is difficult to estimate with any degree
of accuracy the number of cases to which
the instant decision might apply, as there
are no statistics available to show the num-
ber of claims potentially affected, with the
natural result that there are also no precise
figures available as to the total amount of
insurance which may be revived if the
Florian case stands unchallenged.

If, however, the decision of the Circuit
Court of Appeals here is permitted to stand,
claims for insurance previously denied be-
cause there was no uncollected compensation
available at date of permanent and total dis-
ability will be revived where there was un-
collected compensation at the date of death.
The Florian decision would appear to have
potential application to any case in which
the first condition of Section 305, World
War Veterans’ Act, 1924, as amended, may

24

have been met (that is, where there was un-
collected compensation at date of lapse) and
where the insured died with compensation
uncollected which is payable only by reason
of an administrative rating of total and per-
manent disability. The first condition of
Section 305 was met in thousands of cases
because there were issued approximately
4,000,000 contracts of yearly renewable term
insurance, the vast majority of which lapsed
upon discharge. Virtually every case in
which the term insurance lapsed at discharge
and claim for compensation was made more
than sixty days after lapse and allowed as of
the date of discharge would meet the first
requirement of Section 305 of the World
War Veterans’ Act, 1924, as amended.
Probably in relatively few instances were
claims filed within sixty days from discharge
and even in these cases administrative action
with an award of compensation and an actual
payment could seldom be made until after
sixty days from discharge, owing to obvious
administrative difficulties and the volume of
work then involved. Claims for compensa-
tion have been filed in approximately one
and three-quarter million cases.

While a very accurate estimate may not
be given as to the number of cases where
posthumous ratings of total permanent dis-
ability have been made, these were numerous
because death in any case where there was a
chronic disease (as distinguished from an
accidental or unanticipated death) suggests
the likelihood of an earlier total permanent
disability; and it was the administrative
practice to make such findings after death
to insure payment to the estate of the vet-
eran of the full amount of benefits that might
be payable under the law even though the vet-

ORIEN

25

eran did not file claim on such basis prior to
his death. The foregoing analysis leads to
the conclusion, upon a most conservative ba-
sis, that the number of potential cases which
would be affected is extremely large. A
study indicates that the average amount of
term insurance in each instance would prob-
ably be about $7,000.00. On this premise the
total amount which would be payable if the
Florian case is to be given the effect which
it may be said to call for would ultimately
involve many millions. Permit me to urge
that every effort be exerted looking toward
the filing of a petition for a Writ of Cer-
tiorari in this matter.
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) Frank T. Hings,
Frank T. Hines,
Administrator.

©. §. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: ipat

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA43086415_0997%3A06. Public record. Not legal advice.