In Thomas Sweeney, et al. v. RPD Holdings Group, LLC, et al. [Dandrea Holdings], C.A. No. 2020-0813-SG, letter op. (Del. Ch. May 27, 2021), VC Glasscock explains that:
Fifteenth century Italian financier Lorenzo de Tonti promoted an investment vehicle that was a mix of joint tenancy, life insurance and the lottery. In the tontine, investors paid a sum into the vehicle that was never to be repaid. Instead, once the vehicle was subscribed, the investor received modest annuity payments. The payments for each unit were fixed. Nonetheless, the investment was attractive to investors of a sporting nature, because as each unit-holder died, his right to receive payments went not to his heirs, but was spread among the surviving unit-holders, so that the last alive received cumulative annuities that were large indeed.
1 See, e.g., Agatha Christie, 4:50 from Paddington (1957); see also The Simpsons: The Curse of the Flying Hellfish (Fox television broadcast Apr. 28, 1996).
The Chancery Daily reminds us of the pertinent Simpson's dialogue:
Burns: How many of you are familiar with the concept of a "tontine"?
[all stare at him, until Ox raises his hand]
Burns: All right, Ox. Why don't you take us through it?
Ox: Duh, essentially, we all enter into a contract whereby the last surviving participant becomes the sole possessor of all them purty pictures.
Burns: Well put, Oxford.
What came to my mind, however, was Mash S08E18 "Old Soldiers":
Sadly, I must relate that the opinion has very little to do with a tontine. It's a motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens.
