Green v. Jackson National Life Ins.

195 F. App'x 398
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 16, 2006
Docket05-3791
StatusUnpublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 195 F. App'x 398 (Green v. Jackson National Life Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Green v. Jackson National Life Ins., 195 F. App'x 398 (6th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

*399 BOYCE F. MARTIN, JR., Circuit Judge.

Patricia Green brought this action against Jackson National Life Insurance Company to recover the proceeds of a life insurance policy which it refused to pay her, asserting claims of breach of contract and promissory estoppel. The case was referred to a magistrate judge upon the consent of the parties, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). The magistrate granted Jackson National’s motion for summary judgment, and Mrs. Green now appeals that decision. For the following reasons, we reverse.

I.

Mrs. Green was married to the decedent, Carl Green, from December 7, 1976 until Mr. Green’s death in 2003. Both had children from previous marriages. In 1983, the Greens both purchased term life insurance policies through Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Initially, Mrs. Green was designated as the primary beneficiary of Mr. Green’s $25,000 policy. Mrs. Green was also the sole beneficiary of Mr. Green’s will, which was drafted in 1994 or 1995, and remained unchanged thereafter.

Mr. and Mrs. Green experienced marital difficulties in the fall of 1991 and, as a result, lived apart for several months, after which they reconciled and resumed living together. During their brief separation, Mr. Green changed the beneficiary of his life insurance policy from Mrs. Green to his two sons from his prior marriage, David and Paul Green. Through the guidance of his insurance agent, Dan Finke, Mr. Green used Jackson National’s beneficiary change form to effect the change. Mrs. Green acknowledges that the signature on this document is Mr. Green’s, but claims that she was unaware of this change in beneficiary, and never discussed the insurance policy with Mr. Green or anyone else prior to October 2002. Mrs. Green assumed that she was the beneficiary of the policy during this time.

In 1990, Mr. Green grew ill with diabetes. In 1992, Mr. Green needed procedures to fix cardiac difficulties, and began taking insulin for his diabetes. In 1994 or 1995, Mr. Green had five-way bypass heart surgery. Mrs. Green took substantial responsibility in caring for Mr. Green, although Mr. Green had good mental capacity and still could converse and write. Mrs. Green accumulated approximately $20,000 worth of debt for medical and other expenses in caring for Mr. Green.

In early October 2002, Mr. Green asked Mrs. Green to call Jackson National to determine the primary beneficiary on his life insurance policy, and to “confirm and make sure that you’re the beneficiary.” It was typical for Mrs. Green to make these types of phone calls for her husband after his health had declined. Jackson National’s customer service representative told Mrs. Green that he needed to speak with Mr. Green. After Jackson National’s representative heard Mr. Green in the background, he continued to talk to Mrs. Green, asking her Mr. Green’s birthday. Mr. Green also took the phone briefly to participate in this phone call. The representative could not find a policy listed under Mr. Green’s name and birth date.

After this phone call, Mr. Green suggested that Mrs. Green call Finke, their insurance agent. Finke directed Mrs. Green to collect a copy of Mr. Green’s birth certificate and to handwrite a request for a copy of the policy. Mrs. Green drafted an unsigned, handwritten letter, dated October 30, 2002, which stated in part: “Could you please list the beneficiary on the policy.” Finke added his own notation to the letter clarifying Mr. *400 Green’s date of birth, and forwarded it to Jackson National. In response, Jackson National sent Mr. Green a letter dated November 15, 2002. The November 15, 2002 letter stated in relevant part:

Thank you for your request for policy information. Because your policy was issued before 1986, a duplicate copy is not available. However, we are able to provide you with the following policy summary:
Insured: Carl Green
Owner (as of current date): Carl Green
Beneficiary (as of current date): Patricia Green
Face Amount: $25,000.00
Issue Date: September 13,1983
Issue Age: 59
Plan of Insurance: Ultimate IV
This certificate is issued based upon a written statement by the owner that the original policy has been lost or destroyed. This certificate in no way changes or modifies the terms and conditions of the original policy. It is verification that the above policy was issued. Any additional information about the benefits may be obtained at any time by writing to Jackson National Life’s home office in Lansing Michigan.

Mrs. Green testified that after receiving this letter, Mr. Green was “relieved,” and told Mrs. Green “[y]ou’re the beneficiary.” He also expressed this sentiment to Mrs. Green’s two sisters, saying “we got the response from Jackson, they found my policy, and Pat’s the beneficiary. So we’re all set now, everything’s taken care of.” Mrs. Green also testified that Mr. Green made a similar statement to a family friend.

Mr. Green died on January 9, 2003. After his death, Mrs. Green called Finke to ask him “what [she] needed to do to process [her] claim as beneficiary of the insurance.” Finke told Mrs. Green to send him a copy of Mr. Green’s birth certificate as well as Mr. Green’s obituary from the newspaper. Finke promised to process the papers and told her that after Jackson National responded in about ten to fourteen days, he would set up an appointment with her “to move forward.”

On February 7th, 2003, Mrs. Green received a letter from Jackson National stating that David Green and Paul Green were the beneficiaries of the policy. Mrs. Green called Finke that same day and told him about the letter. Finke was surprised and told Mrs. Green that he would check into the situation. He called Mrs. Green back later, and affirmed the contents of Jackson National’s letter. Later that evening, Mrs. Green called David and told him that he and Paul were the beneficiaries of the policy. Paul Green came to Mrs. Green’s shop to pick up a copy of Mr. Green’s birth certificate for his mother’s (Mr. Green’s first wife’s) use in redeeming her policy on Mr. Green. Per Finke’s instructions, Mrs. Green gave Paul Mr. Green’s death certificate, her copy of the life insurance policy, and the February 7th letter from Jackson National which specified that David and Paul Green were the beneficiaries of the policy.

Mrs. Green concedes that Mr. Green signed the change in beneficiary form in 1991 naming his sons as beneficiaries. Mrs. Green claims that prior to his death, Mr. Green discussed with her his wish that she use the insurance money to pay off his medical debt and funeral expenses, and then use the rest to take a vacation.

Mrs. Green filed suit in Ohio state court on February 17, 2004. Her complaint alleged two breach of contract claims, one based on the theory that by paying the premiums herself she became a party to the contract, and the other based on her rights as a third party beneficiary. The complaint also included claims for promis *401

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195 F. App'x 398, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-jackson-national-life-ins-ca6-2006.