Merchants Reserve Life Insurance v. Richardson

118 N.E. 576, 66 Ind. App. 567, 1918 Ind. App. LEXIS 33
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 5, 1918
DocketNo. 9,912
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 118 N.E. 576 (Merchants Reserve Life Insurance v. Richardson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Merchants Reserve Life Insurance v. Richardson, 118 N.E. 576, 66 Ind. App. 567, 1918 Ind. App. LEXIS 33 (Ind. Ct. App. 1918).

Opinion

Hottel, J.

— The undisputed facts, pertinent to the questions presented by this appeal, disclosed by the pleadings and the evidence, are in substance' as follows:

On July 18,1912, the Commonwealth Life Association, an Indiana corporation of Crawfordsville, Indiana, issued a policy of insurance to S. A. Richardson and Florence Richardson, husband and wife, by which, for the consideration therein named, it insured their lives jointly in the sum of $1,000, which sum, upon the death of either, it agreed to- pay to the survivor, if living, otherwise to the executors, administrators, etc., within sixty days after receipt and approval of due and satisfactory proof of the interest of the claimant. Afterwards appellant proposed to assume all liabilities on said policy, which proposition was accepted by appellee, and a written certificate of such assumption was issued to appellee, which provides that appellant assumes under and according to the terms and conditions thereof said policy, etc.

[571]*571Thereafter, to wit, on the — day of July, 1913, S. A. Bichardson died, leaving the appellee surviving. The judgment from which this appeal is prosecuted is a judgment in appellee’s favor for $1,083.16 in an action brought by her against appellant on said policy of insurance.

The complaint makes the policy and application, and appellant’s written assumption of liability thereon respectively parts thereof by way of exhibit, and contains the usual averments showing performance on the part of deceased and of appellee of the conditions of the policy required of them, proof of notice of the death, etc., and appellant’s neglect and failure to pay. Its sufficiency was not questioned.

The appellant filed an answer in three paragraphs, the first of which is a general denial. The second and third paragraphs respectively set up a special defense predicated on certain provisions of the policy and application.

These provisions are as follows (for convenience, we italicize the portions italicized by appellant in its brief):

Provisions of the policy:

“In consideration of the statements contained in the written and printed application No. 1830, and the medical examination of this policy, and the payment in advance of the sum of Twenty-one and 5*0/100 Dollars, this insurance is hereby granted. The conditions, privileges, and benefits tvritten and printed on the following' pages form a part of this contract as fully as if recited over the signatures hereto affixed.
“The policy and application, a copy of which is hereto attached, hereby constitutes the entire contract between the Association and the insured.
“This policy shall be in full force only upon delivery to the insured, and upon condition that he be then in good health.
[572]*572“No agent shall have power in behalf of the Association to modify this contract in any way whatsoever.”
Provisions of application (Part 1.) :
“I, S. A. Richardson, hereby make application for membership and insurance in the Commonwealth Life Association of Crawfordsville, Indiana. My residence and P. O. address is * * * Grreentown, State of Indiana. My age nearest birthday is 52 years. . I apply for One Thousand Dollars of insurance'. My occupation is minister. Do you carry life insurance? Yes. What companies and amount in each? Modern Woodmen, $1,000. Have you ever applied for life insurance without receiving the amount and kind applied for? If so, when and to what companies? No.
“I hereby declare and represent that I am in -good health, * * * and that all the statements and answers to the above questions are true.
“I hereby agree * * * that the foregoing, together with this declaration, shall constitute the application and become a part of the contract for insurance hereby applied for. And it is agreed that the policy herein applied for shall be accepted subject to the privileges and conditions therein contained; and said policy shall not take effect until the same has been issued by the said Association and delivered to me during my life time, and while in good health. ’ ’

■ Part 2 of the application consisted of questions and answers, among which were the following:

“7. Are you now in good health? Yes.
“9. Have you ever had any of the following complaints, diseases or symptoms? Dyspepsia or indigestion or any diseases of the stomach or abdominal organs. * * * Cancer or tumor or ulcers * * *?
[573]*573“Of each illness, state date of attacks, severity, complications and results.
“Dyspepsia mild two months’ duration, does not cause him any trouble at present. Has not taken but little medicine for same. Home remedies. O. L. S.
“10. Have you ever had any other illness, injury, surgical operation or constitutional disease? Give date, duration and effects. No.
_ “11. Give name and address of any physician consulted in last fiv.e yearsf None.
“12. When, and for what complaint? * * *
“I declare, on behalf of myself and of. any person who shall have or claim any interest in any policy issued hereunder, each of the above answers to be full, complete and true, and that I am temperate, and in the best of my knowledge and belief in sound physical condition and proper subject for life insurance.”

The sufficiency of none of said answers is questioned, and for the purposes of the questions presented by the appeal, we need only indicate their general scope and tenor. The averments of said second paragraph are to the effect that the policy sued on was issued to the deceased upon his written application therefor, and that in this application he made the representations above indicated relating to his health; that such representations were warranties; that when said policy was issued and delivered deceased was not in good health, as he well knew; that his said statements and warranties of good health were false in that he was at said time suffering from a disease of the stomach from which he afterwards died; that such statements and warranties were material to said risk, and that appellant was ignorant of the facts and relied on them, etc.

The third paragraph of the answer contains substantially all the averments of the second, and in addi[574]*574tion avers that deceased at the time of his application was then suffering from a disease of the- stomach known as carcinoma, or cancer of the stomach, from which disease he afterwards died. The other answers and representations contained in said application above indicated, made in response to the questions asking for the names of physicians consulted in the last five years, and whether he carried other life insurance, are set out in detail, together with averments of other facts showing the falsity of each of said answers. Each of these paragraphs contains the further averment “that immediately upon learning the aforesaid facts the defendant * * * notified * * * plaintiff that said policy was void and that it refused to be bound by the same and *

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

New York Cent. R. Co. v. Pinnell, Admx.
40 N.E.2d 988 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1942)
Federal Life Insurance v. Relias
185 N.E. 319 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1933)
Ebner v. Ohio State Life Insurance
121 N.E. 315 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1918)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
118 N.E. 576, 66 Ind. App. 567, 1918 Ind. App. LEXIS 33, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/merchants-reserve-life-insurance-v-richardson-indctapp-1918.