Nacchio v. New York Life Ins.

101 F. Supp. 814, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2130
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 30, 1951
DocketCiv. A. No. 10254
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 101 F. Supp. 814 (Nacchio v. New York Life Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nacchio v. New York Life Ins., 101 F. Supp. 814, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2130 (E.D. Pa. 1951).

Opinion

BARD, District Judge.

This is a civil action to collect the face amount of a life insurance policy plus that part of the premium paid but unearned before insured’s death.

A jury trial was waived and a stipulation •of facts was filed, each party reserving the right to object to relevancy. At the hearing before me the plaintiff objected to the relevancy of some of the facts set forth in the agreed stipulation. At the conclusion of the hearing plaintiffs submitted a motion for judgment in their favor and der fendant also submitted a motion for judgment in its favor.

I make the following special Findings of Fact:

1. Plaintiffs are Anthony Nacchio, Joseph Nacchio and John Nacchio, a minor,1 by his natural guardian and mother, Marie Nacchio, all residents of Pennsylvania.

2. Defendant is New York Life Insurance Company, a New York corporation, doing business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

3. On November 5, 1947 Edmond Nacchio applied to defendant for a policy of life insurance in the sum of $7500.

4. Pursuant to that application, Edmond Nacchio was examined by Dr. Charles H. J. Barnett, the medical examiner of defendant, on November 13, 1947.

5. That application for insurance was approved by defendant and policy No. 19,201,168 in the face amount of $7500 was issued to and delivered to Edmond Nacchio December 6, 1947. That policy is not involved in the present action.

6. On December 29, 1947 Edmond Nacchio made a written application to defendant for a policy of life insurance.

7. On January 6, 1948, pursuant to this application, and without any medical examination, defendant issued the policy involved in the instant suit No. 19,203,954 in face amount of $3000 to Edmond Nacchio (hereinafter called insured).

8. On January 10, 1948 this policy was delivered to insured’s brother, who paid the first premium with his personal check.

9. Plaintiffs are the beneficiaries named in this policy.

10. Insured died April 6, 1948.

11. Due proof of death was submitted to defendant, who refused to pay the proceeds of the policy but tendered $116.39, the amount of the premium paid, together with [816]*816interest, to Marie Nacchio, the executrix of insured’s estate.

12. This tender was refused.

13. By its answer to the complaint, defendant has renewed this tender.

14. The application, as signed by insured on December 29, 1947, included only “Application to the New York Life Insurance Company — Part I”.

15. The application, as attached by defendant to the policy when issued on January 10, 1948, included (a) Part I referred to above, (b) a Part II insured’s “Answers to the Medical Examiner” given and signed by insured at the time of the medical examination for the prior $7500 policy and dated November 13, 1947, (c) a hand written, signed statement of insured dated November 21, 1947 certifying his correct date of birth, (d) an amendment dated December 2, 1947, signed by the insured, agreeing that insurance be written with age advanced eight years, and (e) a similar amendment dated January 6, 1948 but not signed by insured. Photostatic copies of these papers are attached to the complaint.

16. Insured did not consent to defendant’s attaching to his policy in suit the papers in (b), (c), (d) and (e) listed in the preceding paragraph.

17. A self health certificate dated January 6, 1948 was signed by insured. A photostatic copy is attached to the filed “stipulation of facts.”

18. This self health certificate was delivered by insured’s brother on January 10, 1948 to an agent of defendant when the brother received the policy and paid the first premium thereon.

19. This self health certificate provided in part: “The foregoing Declaration [of health] is an amendment to and is hereby made a part of my said application #

20. This self health certificate was not attached to insured’s policy.

Discussion

The crux of this case is whether the application, or any part thereof, is admissible in evidence. The law of Pennsylvania is the applicable law.

The application for insurance in Part I, ■which under the terms of the policy is a part of the policy, provides in part: “It is mutually agreed as follows: That the insurance hereby applied for shall not go into force unless and until the policy is delivered to and received by the Applicant and the first premium thereon paid in full during his lifetime, and then only if the Applicant has not consulted or been treated by any physician or practitioner * * * since the time of making this application if no medical examination is made, and thereupon the policy shall be deemed to have taken effect as of the date specified * * * above.” (Emphasis supplied.)

This quoted provision of the application fixes a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the policy. Benzinger v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, 317 Pa. 561, 176 A. 922. Defendants contend therefore that the policy in suit never became effective, since it is admitted that the insured did consult and was treated by physicians between the date of the application and the delivery of the policy.

The insured made the application for insurance on December 29, 1947, and the policy was delivered on January 10, 1948. On December 31, 1947 insured consulted Dr. Frank Briglia and entered the Graduate Hospital on January 7, 1948 and remained there until January 14, 1948. The history, as appears by the hospital record, was that about six weeks previous on arising in the morning he had found a large, non-tender swelling in the right infra costal margin which made him uncomfortable at night and caused him to toss and turn. Upon his admission to the Graduate Hospital, he was given a physical examination by Dr. Tracy, whose impression is recorded on the hospital record as “cancer with metastic liver involvement.”

On January 7, 1948, a fluoroscopic study of insured’s chest was made by Dr. Smith; and on January 9th fluoroscopic studies of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum; and in conjunction with these fluoroscopic studies x-ray films were taken by Dr. Zion and reviewed by Dr. Finkelstein.

While in the Graduate Hospital insured consulted and was treated by Dr. William [817]*817Bates, who on January 10, 1948 dictated into the hospital record: “Whereas this mass feels as if it may be a portion of the liver, the negative liver function tests (B.S.P.) raises question of retroperitoneal sarcoma or blastoma. As x-ray gives no help from G.U. or G.I. etiology would advise that peritonioscopy be done or that we be permitted to do a needle biopsy.”

When insured left the hospital on January 14, 1948, the diagnosis recorded by Dr. Metzger was “retroperitoneal sarcoma.”

Plaintiffs object to the relevancy of this medical history in accordance with their contention that the entire application must be excluded from the evidence pursuant to the Act of May 17, 1921, Article III, § 318, P.L. 682, 40 P.S. § 441.

This statute provides: "All insurance policies,

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Related

Girouard v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance
199 A.2d 307 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 1964)

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Bluebook (online)
101 F. Supp. 814, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nacchio-v-new-york-life-ins-paed-1951.