Green v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States

284 P.2d 695, 3 Utah 2d 375, 1955 Utah LEXIS 157
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJune 10, 1955
Docket8266
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 284 P.2d 695 (Green v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States) 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
Green v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 284 P.2d 695, 3 Utah 2d 375, 1955 Utah LEXIS 157 (Utah 1955).

Opinion

WORTHEN, Justice.

Appeal from a judgment by the lower court sitting without a jury.

The following facts were stipulated to by the parties:

“On November 20, 1952, Delbert O. Green, deceased, husband of plaintiff, applied to the defendant for a mortgage *376 loan in the amount of $4500.00 on his home at 2133 East Crystal Aveniie, Salt Lake City, Utah, said loan to he made on what the defendant calls its AHO or Assured Home Ownership Plan. As an incident to such loan, all applicants apply for and secure life insurance coverage from the defendant in a face amount equal to the amount of the loan applied for, which insurance may be of such type and on such a plan as the applicant desires. (Exhibit 1.) Delbert O. Green on November 20, 1952, as a part of his mortgage loan application, applied for a policy of life insurance on the ordinary life plan in the face amount of $4500.00, the policy to become effective on January 1, 1953, with preliminary term insurance from the date of the application to the effective date of the permanent policy. (Exhibit 2.) The temporary receipt referred to in the application is attached thereto as Exhibit 2-A. This receipt was never delivered to the applicant. On the same day and concurrently with the application, Delbert O. Green executed what is called a ‘Temporary Agreement’ (Exhibit 3) agreeing to pay $29.07 which was the amount of the first monthly premium on the proposed insurance policy plus $9.36 on account of the premium for the preliminary term insurance. Said ‘Temporary Agreement’ was on a mimeographed form prepared by the defendant. On or before December 1, the applicant paid the sum of $29.07 to the Defendant's agent. On December 2, 1952, Delbert O. Green was notified that the mortgage loan portion of his application had been tentatively approved. (Exhibit 4.)
“The following is a complete chronological sequence of the events as they relate to the life insurance portion of the application:
“The application Part I, dated November '20, 1952; the application Part II (medical) dated November 22, 1952 (Exhibit 5); report of additional medical examination dated November 25 (Exhibit 6) ; request for additional medical information dated December 2, 1952 (Exhibit 7) ; report of additional medical examination dated December 6, 1952 (Exhibit 8); report from applicant’s own doctor with electrocardiograph attached, dated December 9 (Exhibit 9) forwarded to New York on December 11, 1952 (Exhibit 10); death of applicant occurred on December 28, 1952; a policy was prepared by the policy-issuing department on December 29, containing a ‘C’ rating and providing for a monthly premium of $24.62 per month (Exhibit 11); wire inquiring as to whether applicant was covered, dated December 29 (Exhibit 12) ; form letter advising of rated policy dated December 31 (Exhibit 13) ; refund of the premium *377 paid, in the amount of $29.07 was tendered to the plaintiff and refused (Exhibit 14) and the defendant has again tendered refund of the premium, together with interest thereon by paying the same to the Cleric of the Court.”

At the conclusion of the hearing the court made and entered findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment. Appellant assigns error as follows:

"1. The court erred in its finding of fact ‘That the application provided that the insurance applied for should not become effective until satisfactory proof of insurability was furnished to the defendant’s home office in New York City.’
“2. The court erred in giving undue consideration and weight to the so-called binding receipt.
“3. The court erred in failing to find a preliminary contract of temporary insurance.
“4. The court erred in concluding as a matter of law that the insurance application was rejected- by the respondent and in a due and timely manner.
“5. The court erred in failing to enter a finding of fact on the issue of representation on the part of respondent’s agent.”

This being, a law action the question is not whether the evidence would have supported a judgment in favor of appellant but whether the judgment entered by the trial court finds support in the evidence. 1

The trial judge saw and heard the witnesses and was in a better position than we to properly evaluate it and to pass on their credibility.

By way of amplification of the agreed stipulation of facts the following additional facts should be disclosed.

The application for. insurance identified' as Exhibit 2 was the ordinary form and contained the following conditions:

“(a) It is hereby agreed that any policy issued hereon shall not take effect until the first premium thereunder has been paid driring my good health; that no agent or other person except the President, a Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, a Registrar or an Assistant Registrar of the Society has power to make or modify any contract on behalf of the Society or to waive any of the Society’s rights or requirements, and that no waiver shall be valid unless in writing and signed by one of the foregoing officers. All of the foregoing statements and all those contained in Part II hereof are true, full and complete, and are offered to the Society as an inducement to issue the policy or policies for .which application *378 is hereby made.” ' (Parí II was the medical examination.)
“(b) I have paid-to-to cover-on the policy applied for above in accordance with the provisions of the receipt of date and number corresponding to this application, which is hereby accepted subject to the conditions thereof. * * * ” (Emphasis ours.)

The receipt of date and number corresponding to the application was identified as Exhibit 2-A. It was attached at the bottom to the application. The number on the application appeared in lower right hand corner and the number on the receipt was in the upper right hand corner thereof.. The receipt provided:

“Received of-No. 74754S -dollars, to cover-on proposed insurance for $- on the life of- for which Part I of 'an application bearing a corresponding number as above is this day made to The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Insurance, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy contract, shall take effect as of the date of this receipt, provided satisfactory Part II of the application is furnished to the Society and provided the person whose life is proposed for insurance is on this date, in the opinion of the Society’s authorized officers in New York, an insurable risk under its rules and the application is otherwise ac- ■ ceptable on the plan and for the amount and at the rate of premium applied for; otherwise the-payment evi■denced by this receipt shall be returned on demand and upon the surrender of this receipt.” (Italics ours.) “Dated at -, -:- 19 — , -, Agent.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
284 P.2d 695, 3 Utah 2d 375, 1955 Utah LEXIS 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-equitable-life-assurance-society-of-the-united-states-utah-1955.