Arena v. Riversource Life Ins. Co.

356 F. Supp. 3d 413
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedDecember 10, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 16-5063 (JLL)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 356 F. Supp. 3d 413 (Arena v. Riversource Life Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arena v. Riversource Life Ins. Co., 356 F. Supp. 3d 413 (D.N.J. 2018).

Opinion

LINARES, Chief District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court by way of Defendant RiverSource Life Insurance Co.'s Motion for Summary Judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and Local Civil Rule 56.1. (ECF No. 67). Plaintiff Gianfranco Arena filed opposition, and Defendant replied thereto. (ECF Nos. 68, 72). The Court decides this matter without oral argument pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78. For the reasons set forth below, the Court *414grants Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. BACKGROUND 1

Mrs. Christine Arena was a successful attorney, who had worked for Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP as an associate and at Time Warner, Inc. as assistant general counsel. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 12-13; ECF No. 68-1 ¶ 1). Mrs. Arena was also the mother of four children and wife to Plaintiff. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 14; ECF No. 68-1 ¶¶ 1-2). She was "a devout Roman Catholic," and lived with her family in Montclair, New Jersey. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 14; ECF No. 68-1 ¶ 15). In March 2015, the Arenas bought a new house and were attempting to sell their old one. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 15-16; ECF No. 68-1 at p. 5).

Though there is some dispute regarding the nature and timeframe of her symptoms, it is uncontested that Mrs. Arena started to experience some form of anxiety and depression beginning in at least late March 2015. (See Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 17-28; ECF No. 68-1 ¶¶ 50-59).2 On April 2, 2015, Mrs. Arena and Plaintiff met with a psychiatrist named Dr. Noah Shaw, who prescribed Mrs. Arena with 25 milligrams of Zoloft once per day and 0.5 milligrams of Klonopin twice per day for her symptoms of depression and anxiety. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 30, 34). On April 4, 2015, Dr. Shaw instructed Mrs. Arena to take her Klonopin prescription three times per day. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 36).

On April 6, 2015, after cancelling a planned family vacation to Miami, Mrs. Arena saw a primary care physician named Dr. Laurie Nash "to rule out a medical cause for her depression." (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 37-38). Dr. Nash observed that Mrs. Arena exhibited signs of severe anxiety and depression, which were demonstrated by multiple instances in which Mrs. Arena repeated herself and fixated on allegedly unsubstantiated concerns regarding the family's financial situation. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 39-40). That same day, Mrs. Arena also met with Dr. Shaw, who increased her Zoloft prescription to 50 milligrams per day. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 41). Dr. Shaw saw Mrs. Arena again on April 8, 2015, and noted that "[s]he was still anxious." (Def.'s SMF ¶ 42).

On April 10, 2015, Mrs. Arena emailed her supervisor that she had "not been feeling well since before the Easter holiday," and that she would not be able to show up to work the following Monday. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 43). Her supervisor informed *415her "not to worry," and expressed significant concern over Mrs. Arena's wellbeing, even emailing Plaintiff about his concerns. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 44). On April 11, 2015, Dr. Shaw increased Mrs. Arena's Zoloft prescription to 100 milligrams per day and instructed her to increase the amount of times she took 0.5 milligrams of Klonopin to four times per day. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 45). After four days in which Mrs. Arena was described by Plaintiff as "up and down," Dr. Shaw prescribed Mrs. Arena with 50 milligrams of Trazodone once per day to be taken in addition to her other medications. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 49-50).

On April 19, 2015, the Arenas received an offer on their old house. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 52). While her mother happened to be visiting on April 21, 2015, Mrs. Arena allegedly became very upset because she had not included in the disclosure statement that the old house had uneven sidewalks. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 53, 57-59). Mrs. Arena and her mother argued, and, after Mrs. Arena supposedly calmed down, her mother suggested that Mrs. Arena rest while her mother picked up the children from school. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 60). Mrs. Arena then made several short telephone calls to Plaintiff. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 62-63).

After making these telephone calls, Mrs. Arena took two of her husband's belts from their bedroom and a small child's seat from her son's bedroom, and hanged herself in the bathroom. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 5, 64). After being discovered by her eleven year-old daughter, Mrs. Arena was taken down by her mother and rushed to the hospital, where she was placed on life support. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 6, 8). On April 29, 2015, Mrs. Arena was determined to be unresponsive, and Plaintiff decided to terminate life support. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 8). She died the following day at the age of forty-one years. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 8, 10). Though Plaintiff contests the characterization and legal implication, the hospital and the New Jersey Medical Examiner both listed Mrs. Arena's death as "suicide." (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 8-9; ECF No. 68-1 at p. 3-4).

Mrs. Arena had previously purchased two life insurance policies from Defendant on April 3 and 15, 2014. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 1). Both policies included exclusions for coverage if the insured commits suicide within two years of the date that the policies were issued ("the Suicide Exclusions"). (Def.'s SMF ¶ 2). Specifically, the life insurance policy issued on April 3, 2014 had the following provision:

Suicide Exclusion
Suicide by the Insured, whether sane or insane, within two years from the Policy Date is not covered by this policy. In this event the only amount payable by Us to the beneficiary will be the premiums which You have paid, minus any Indebtedness and partial surrenders.

(Def.'s SMF ¶ 4 (emphasis omitted) ).

Similarly, the April 15, 2014 life insurance policy contained the following provision:

Suicide Exclusion
If the Insured, whether sane or insane, dies by suicide within 2 years from the Policy Date, Our liability is limited to an amount equal to the total premiums paid.

(Def.'s SMF ¶ 3 (emphasis omitted) ).

On May 18, 2015, Plaintiff filed a claim for life insurance benefits from Defendant pursuant to the policies. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 67). On October 19, 2015, Defendant denied Plaintiff's claim, citing to Mrs. Arena's death certificate which listed the manner and date of death as suicide on April 30, 2015. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 68). Because Mrs. Arena's death was categorized as a suicide and occurred within two years of her taking out the life insurance policies, Defendant concluded that Plaintiff's claim was *416excluded by the Suicide Exclusions. (Id. ). After Plaintiff requested reconsideration, Defendant reaffirmed its denial on January 12, 2016 and again on June 20, 2016. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 69-72). Accordingly, Plaintiff brought this action against Defendant on July 5, 2016 in New Jersey Superior Court, Essex County, alleging breach of contract. (ECF No. 1-2). On August 18, 2016, Defendant removed the case to this Court. (ECF No. 1). Defendant now moves for summary judgment. (ECF No. 64).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

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356 F. Supp. 3d 413, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arena-v-riversource-life-ins-co-njd-2018.