Chadwick v. Beneficial Life Ins.

191 P. 240, 56 Utah 480, 1920 Utah LEXIS 64
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedApril 30, 1920
DocketNo. 3406
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 191 P. 240 (Chadwick v. Beneficial Life Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chadwick v. Beneficial Life Ins., 191 P. 240, 56 Utah 480, 1920 Utah LEXIS 64 (Utah 1920).

Opinions

CORFMAN, C. J.

Plaintiff brought this action in the district court of Weber county to recover a judgment against the defendant on a life insurance policy issued by the defendant upon the life of her husband, J. Charles Chadwick, wherein she was named as the beneficiary. The policy was issued June 1, 1916, and attached thereto and expressly made a part thereof was a copy of the signed application of the insured, J. Charles Chadwick, dated May 29, 1916, containing the purported questions propounded by the defendant’s .medical examiner to, and the answers made by, the applicant. In compliance with Comp. Laws Utah 1917, section 1154, subd. 3, the policy contained the provision that “all statements made by the insured shall, in the absence of fraud, be deemed representations and not warranties, and no such statement shall avoid or be used in defense under the policy unless it is contained in the written and printed application and a copy of such application is indorsed on the policy issued.”

In so far as may become material for a proper consideration of the issues involved in this case the signed application indorsed or attached to and made a part of the policy contains these express agreements on the part of the insured:

“I hereby declare and agree that I am now * * * in good health, and ordinarily have good health, and that in my statements and answers in this application, and to the medical examiners, no information has been or will he withheld touching my past and present state of health * * * with which the Beneficial Life Insurance Company should he made acquainted; and that the statements and answers to the printed questions above, together with this declaration, as well as those made by the company’s medical examiner, shall constitute the application and be the basis of this contract.”

Also:

“I hereby agree that the foregoing statements made to the company’s medical examiner are a part of my application for insurance, are declared to be true, and offered to the company as a consideration for the contract.”

[483]*483Tbe insured, J. Charles Chadwick, died August 13, 1916, and thereupon, after refusal of the defendant company to pay the death loss under the policy,’ the beneficiary commenced this action in the usual form.

The case has been twice tried before a jury in the district court, and this is the second appeal to this court. The first appeal was by the plaintiff from a judgment entered upon a directed verdict in defendant’s favor. We reversed that judgment, and ordered that the plaintiff be granted a new trial. Chadwick v. Beneficial Life Ins. Co., 54 Utah 443, 181 Pac. 448. A new trial being granted, the defendant applied for and was granted permission to amend its answer, which as -amended, after admitting the issuance and delivery of the policy, the death of the insured, and its refusal to make payment, sets up the following defenses:

“(1) That the said policy of insurance was issued by this defendant and accepted by said Chadwick in the following express condition and agreement contained in said policy and made part of said contract of insurance, to wit: That the statements and answers contained in the application for insurance and in answer to the medical examiner of the defendant company, and on the faith of which said policy was issued, were in all respects true, and that no information had been withheld touching the past or present state of health of the applicant with which the defendant company should have been acquainted; and upon the further consideration, to wit, that the answers and statements so made in said application and to the medical examiner, together with the declaration contained in the said application form, should constitute the application, and be the basis of the contract between said Chadwick and the defendant company.
“(2) That the said Chadwick violated the conditions contained in said application form, and on faith of which the said policy of insurance was issued, in that he stated therein that he was in good health at the time of making application for insurance to the defendant company; and that, further, the said Chadwick in answer to said question No. 11 of the questions submitted to him as aforesaid by the medical examiner of the defendant company, to wit, ‘Are you in good health so far as you know or believe?’ answered, ‘Yes;’ whereas, the said Chadwick at the time was, and for some time prior to applying for insurance to the defendant company had been, suffering with a disease which tended to prejudicially influence his health and impair his longevity, and from which disease [484]*484the said Chadwick in fact died on or about the 13th day of August, 1916; and that at the time that the said Chadwick made his aforesaid application for insurance and answered the said question No. 11 submitted to him by the defendant’s medical examiner as aforesaid the said Chadwick knew, or had reason to believe, that he was not in good health, and was afflicted with a disease which tended to prejudicially influence his health and impair his longevity.
"(3) That the said Chadwick further violated the conditions contained in said contract of insurance in that in the answer made to question No. 6 contained in the statement made t,o the medical examiner of the defendant company as aforesaid, which question reads as follows, to wit: ‘Give name and address of physician last consulted,’ the said Chad.wick answered, ‘None;’ whereas, in fact, within the space of a few weeks prior thereto, .he had consulted doctors at Afton, Wyoming, and at Ogden, Utah, in regard to the disease with which he was at such time afflicted and from which he died.
“(4) That the said Chadwick further violated the conditions contained in said contract of insurance in that in the answer made to R of question No. 5 contained in the statement made to the medical examiner of the defendant company as aforesaid, which question reads as follows, to wit, ‘Have you ever had any of the following diseases? Of each illness state date, number of attacks, duration, severity, complications, and result, thus avoiding correspondence and delay. R. Rheumatism or gout’ — the said Chadwick answered, ‘No;’ whereas, in fact, the said Chadwick was at such time suffering with a disease which he believed, or had reason to believe, tended to prejudicially influence his health and impair his longevity, and which, as the result of the opinion expressed to him by his physician, the said Chadwick then believed to be rheumatism.”

Upon submission of the case to the jury on the second trial the defendant again moved the district court for a directed verdict in its favor, which was denied. The jury then returned a verdict in plaintiff’s favor, and judgment was entered thereon against the defendant for the amount of the policy, interest and costs. Motion for new trial was made and denied. Defendant appeals, and assigns as errors: (1) The denial of defendant’s motion for a-directed verdict; (2) the refusal to charge the jury as requested by defendant; (3) denial of motion for new trial; (4) that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, and that the judgment is contrary to law.

Briefly stated, the testimony shows that the insured had [485]*485been a rancher by occupation, strong and vigorous until on about February 1, 1916, when be became afflicted with some malady causing him pains in the back. He then resided at Afton, "Wyo., where be consulted a physician, one Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
191 P. 240, 56 Utah 480, 1920 Utah LEXIS 64, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chadwick-v-beneficial-life-ins-utah-1920.