Blanchette v. United States

102 F. Supp. 311, 1952 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4735
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedJanuary 24, 1952
DocketCiv. No. 764
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 102 F. Supp. 311 (Blanchette v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blanchette v. United States, 102 F. Supp. 311, 1952 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4735 (D. Me. 1952).

Opinion

CLIFFORD, District Judge.

This is an action by a beneficiary to recover the proceeds of two National Service Life Insurance policies issued to her husband.

The defendant, the United States Government, interposed a motion to dismiss the above-entitled action alleging that the complaint failed to state a claim against the defendant upon which relief could be granted. The defendant asserts that the facts alleged in the complaint fail to bring the plaintiff’s claim for waiver of the unpaid premiums due on the policies of insurance sued upon within the provisions of Section 602(n) of the National Serv[312]*312ice Life Insurance Act of 1940, as amended, Section 802(n) of Title 38 U.S.C.A.

In the alternative, the defendant moves for summary judgment in its favor, pursuant to Rule 56(b) of the Fed. R. of Civ. Proc., 28 U.S.C.A., on the ground that no genuine issue relating to any material fact is raised relative to the lapsing dates of the insurance policies, or the date of the filing of the claim for waiver of the unpaid premiums on the policies. Therefore, the defendant asserts it is entitled to judgment in its favor as a matter of law.

Statement of Facts

The parties are in complete accord concerning the facts in this case which are fully set forth in the ¡brief submitted by the defendant. These facts reflect that Second Lieutenant Ray Blanchette, the insured, carried two policies of National Service Life Insurance while in the military service, one in the amount of $3,000, under certificate No. N-1868860, effective March 1, 1942, and a second in the amount of $7,000 under certificate number N-11831442, effective June 1, 1943. The two policies were not combined.

The insured had originally designated his father, Alfred Blanchette as sole beneficiary of the entire amount of the insurance. The insured was unmarried at that time. However, he effected a change of beneficiary in favor of his wife, the plaintiff herein, on July 10, 1943, which was ten days after his marriage to her.

Within a very short time thereafter, the insured was hospitalized and remained so up to the time of his discharge from the Army. Detailed clinical records of Army hospitals indicate that the insured received excellent and complete medical attention. Army doctors initially diagnosed his illness as either menieres syndrone or a brain tumor. However, after many laboratory tests and special examinations, his ailment was finally diagnosed as psychoneurosis, mixed type, moderate.

On October 25, 1943, the Army Retiring Board found the insured was incapacitated for further military duty due to his physical condition and recommended his release from active service. He was discharged from the Lawson General Hospital on October 30, 1943, and on November 11, 1943, he was placed on terminal leave and returned to civilian life. He received his final military discharge on January 7, 1944, upon the termination of his leave.

After his return to civilian life, the insured continued to be plagued by severe ■headaches with nausea and vomiting, dizziness, a staggering gait and decreased hearing. His condition worsened and finally the insured died at a hospital in Portland, Maine, on January 25, 1944, from a cerebellar brain tumor. .

While in the service, the insured had established an allotment, payable from his army pay, one month in advance, on said government insurance policies in payment of premiums. The allotment was discontinued, effective October 31, 1943. Therefore, premiums on said policies were paid through November 30, 1943, and no premiums were paid thereafter. Consequently, the policies lapsed on December 31, 1943. No claim for waiver of unpaid premiums was ever made by the insured before his death on January 25, 1944.

The plaintiff beneficiary made no claim for any government insurance benefits under these policies to which she may have been entitled until March 18, 1949, or over five years subsequent to the death of the insured and over two years subsequent to the promulgation of the Veterans Administration Regulation set forth in 38 CFR 228, 1949 edition, Section 8.40, effective August 1, 1946. On March 18, 1949, she filed an application for waiver of unpaid premiums and a claim for the subject insurance proceeds. The reason given by the plaintiff for her delay in failing to file her claim prior to that date is that she was ignorant of the fact that her husband (the insured) had these government insurance policies of which she was principal beneficiary. It appears from the records contained in the Veterans Administration. Claims folder that the plaintiff was informed of the existence of these insurance policies by a representative of the American [313]*313Legion in December, 1948. The records indicate that she did take certain steps immediately after the death of the insured to secure for- herself and child benefits, ■other than government insurance, from the United States Government, to which she was entitled as the unremarried widow of a veteran of World War II.

The records of the Veterans Administration accurately reflect the fact that the plaintiff received from the Veterans Administration and from various service officers of the American Legion, advice and assistance in the preparation and presentment of all claims made known to these •organizations by the plaintiff, immediately following notice to them of the death of the insured.

All of the records that pertained to the insured were transferred from the Veterans Administration Facility, Togus, Maine, to the Central office of the Veterans Administration, Washington, D. C. On May 13, 1944, the director of the Dependent’s Claims Service sent to the plaintiff a form letter stating that under existing laws the plaintiff might be entitled to pension payments. The form letter further stated that a separate blank application was enclosed because “pension benefits payable will be in addition to any life insurance benefits to which you may be entitled.” (Emphasis theirs.)

Shortly thereafter, the plaintiff, with the assistance and advice of a service officer ■of the American Legion, prepared the ■application form for pension payments sent to her by the director of the Dependent’s Claim Service. One question in the application asked whether the plaintiff had filed or was filing a claim for “Government Insurance.” Another related question was whether the applicant, plaintiff herein, was named as a beneficiary of any insurance policy of the veteran at the time of his death. Her answer to each question was “No.”.

The prepared application was sent to the Dependent’s Claim Service by a department service officer of the American Legion on July 17, 1944. An aw;ard of death pension was made by the Veterans Administration to the plaintiff at the monthly rate of $50.00, commencing January 26, 1944. An amended award was approved on January 3, 1945, to provide additional death pension benefits to include a minor child, born after the death of the insured.

No further action was taken by the plaintiff until late in 1948 when the plaintiff was informed by a Rehabilitation Representative of the Boston office of the American Legion that she was the named beneficiary of her husband’s government insurance. The American Legion was authorized by the plaintiff on December 22, 1948, to be her representative with respect to this claim.

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Bluebook (online)
102 F. Supp. 311, 1952 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4735, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blanchette-v-united-states-med-1952.