Bynum v. Signal Life Insurance Company

522 S.W.2d 696, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2606
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 10, 1975
Docket18557
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 522 S.W.2d 696 (Bynum v. Signal Life Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bynum v. Signal Life Insurance Company, 522 S.W.2d 696, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2606 (Tex. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

CLAUDE WILLIAMS, Chief Justice.

Patsy Ruth Bynum, independent executrix of the estate of Robert Lee Dalby, deceased, brought this action against Signal Life Insurance Company (hereinafter called Signal), seeking to recover the proceeds of a life insurance policy which had been issued by Signal to Robert Lee Dalby. The executrix appeals from a take-nothing judgment rendered by the trial court based upon a jury verdict. We reverse and render judgment for appellant.

The material antecedent facts are without dispute. On July 5, 1971, Robert Lee Dalby signed a written application for a. life insurance policy in the sum of $10,000 to be issued by Signal. In this application, after being questioned about a number of specific diseases, he was asked if he had “any other disease, injury, operation or deformity” to which he answered “No.” In another part of the application, he was asked if he had “any other impairment, sickness, injury in past five years,” to which he answered “No.” Contemporaneous with the execution of the written application, Dalby was given a complete physical examination by Dr. S. G. Khoury of Longview, Texas, at the request of Signal. As a result of this examination, Dr. Khoury reported to Signal that he found a “slight impairment to the left eye.” Under “explanation of any abnormal findings” the doctor stated:

In 1962 he received a blow to his head and probably resulted in the relatively poor vision left eye — he does wear glasses to compensate for the impairment vision—

Dr. Khoury testified at the trial of the case, by deposition, that Dalby had told him during the examination on July 5, 1971, that he had suffered from impaired vision to his left eye, all of which he,;*attributed to an automobile injury which he *698 had previously sustained in 1962. Signal issued the insurance policy to Dalby on July 15, 1971, and this coverage was in full force and effect at the time of Dalby’s death on June 3, 1973. The death certificate revealed that the cause of Dalby’s death was a brain tumor.

After Patsy Ruth Bynum was named independent administratrix of the estate of Dalby, she made demand upon Signal for the proceeds of the policy but the company refused to pay and this precipitated the filing of the action. The only affirmative defense made by Signal was that “the policy of life insurance upon which plaintiff bases this suit was obtained by misrepresentations which were material to the risk, which were relied upon, and which were intended to mislead the defendant and did induce issuance of the subject policy.” Signal alleged the misrepresentations were that Dalby had a brain tumor since approximately 1962; that he had been treated for symptoms of brain tumor at the time of the completion of the application; that at the time of the completion of the application Dalby had symptoms-of brain tumor and that the representations made by Dal-by to the contrary were false.

In answer to special issues, the jury found: (1) that the representations made by Dalby in his application for the policy of insurance that he did not know of any impairment now existing in his physical health or condition were false; (2) that such representations were known by Dal-by to be false; (3) that such representations were material to the risk; (4) that Dalby did not make the representations inquired about in special issue number one with intent to deceive and mislead the Signal Life Insurance Company in issuing the policy in question; (5) that Signal Life Insurance Company relied on such representations in issuing the policy to Dalby; (6) that the representations made by Dalby in the application that he had not consulted a physician for illness during the past five yegrs was false; (7) that such representation was known by Dalby to be false; (8) that such representation was not material to the risk; and (9) that such representation inquired about in special issue number six was not made by Dalby with the intent to deceive and mislead the Company in issuing the policy.

Based upon this verdict, the trial court rendered judgment that the executrix recover nothing from Signal.

Appellant contends that the trial court should have rendered a judgment in favor of the estate, together with interest and attorney fees, because appellee Signal had failed to secure a favorable jury finding in special issue number four — one of the elements necessary to establish the defense of misrepresentation. We agree with appellant. Our Supreme Court, and numerous Courts of Civil Appeals, have consistently held that to avoid a policy of insurance on the grounds of misrepresentation, the insurance company must both plead and prove (1) the making of the representation; (2) the falsity thereof; (3) the materiality thereof; (4) the reliance thereon by the insurer; and (5) that the false statements must have been made wilfully and with design to deceive or defraud the insurance company or made wilfully and with the intention of inducing the insurer to issue him a policy. Clark v. National Life & Accident Insurance Co., 145 Tex. 575, 200 S.W.2d 820, 823 (1947); Allen v. American National Insurance Co., 380 S.W.2d 604, 608 (Tex.1964); Great Southern Life Insurance Co. v. Doyle, 136 Tex. 377, 151 S.W.2d 197, 201 (1941); American Central Life Insurance Co. v. Alexander, 56 S.W.2d 864, 866 (Tex.Com.App.1933, holding approved); Prudential Insurance Co. v. Levinson, 444 S.W.2d 811, 814 (Tex.Civ.App.—Beaumont 1969, writ ref’d n. r. e.); Wolfing v. Prudential Insurance Co., 417 S.W.2d 498, 499 (Tex.Civ.App.—Waco 1967, no writ); Empire Life and Hospital Insurance Co. v. Shannon, 415 S.W.2d 532, 534 (Tex.Civ.App.—Amarillo 1967, no writ); Bankers Health and Life Insurance Co. v. Ryan, 411 S.W.2d 373, 374 (Tex.Civ.App.—Fort Worth 1967, writ *699 ref’d n. r. e.); 11 Baylor L.Rev. 236, 239-40 (1959).

Empire Life and Hospital Insurance Co. v. Shannon, 415 S.W.2d 532 (Tex.Civ.App.—Amarillo 1967, no writ), is a case very similar to that which we now consider. In that case the insurance company denied liability and pleaded the defense of fraudulent misrepresentation in that the insured, Shannon, had denied, in the written application, that he was suffering from diseases, including cancer. After the policy had been issued, it was discovered that the insured was suffering from cancer. The jury found that “Shannon had failed to include in his application all of his previous ailments and physical condition in answers to certain questions in the application for insurance,” but that such failure was not done wilfully and with intent to induce the insurance company to issue the policy.

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Bluebook (online)
522 S.W.2d 696, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2606, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bynum-v-signal-life-insurance-company-texapp-1975.