St. Cloud National Bank & Trust Co. v. Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society

451 N.W.2d 75, 1990 Minn. App. LEXIS 139, 1990 WL 7672
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 6, 1990
DocketCX-89-1491
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 451 N.W.2d 75 (St. Cloud National Bank & Trust Co. v. Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
St. Cloud National Bank & Trust Co. v. Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society, 451 N.W.2d 75, 1990 Minn. App. LEXIS 139, 1990 WL 7672 (Mich. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

*77 OPINION

PARKER, Judge.

Appellant St. Cloud National Bank and Trust Company is the conservator for Dawn Lintgen, beneficiary of a life insurance policy issued by respondent Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society (Woodmen). The conservator appeals from a judgment denying coverage under the poli- • cy. It contends that the trial court applied an incorrect standard in determining whether Woodmen was bound by erroneous answers concerning the insured’s medical history which were made on his application for life insurance and on the report of the nurse examiner. We reverse.

FACTS

On March 10, 1984, Richard Clement met with Lawrence Lintgen and took his application for a $60,000 life insurance policy with Woodmen. Clement, an agent for Woodmen, asked Lintgen a list of medical history questions and transcribed his answers onto the application; Lintgen then signed it. At the time he took the application, Clement knew that several of the answers were incorrect.

Lintgen had been hospitalized in 1983 for a “depressive reaction” to the death of his son, and during 1984 he was in continuing outpatient treatment for “severe situational stress” at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. His medical records indicated that he was taking medication in conjunction with his treatment for stress symptoms and that he had occasionally complained of chest pain. In conjunction with this treatment, he received counseling for excessive and unfounded worries about his health.

The trial court found that Lintgen made the following false statements on his application for insurance:

1.During the past five years have you:
⅜ ⅜ ⅜ ⅜ ⅜ ⅜;
E. Been under care or treatment in any hospital or similar institution?
Answer: No
F. Consulted, been examined or been treated by a physician?
Answer: No
2. Have you had or been told you had:
A. Epilepsy, nervous breakdown or any disease or disorder of the brain or nervous system?
Answer: No
* ⅝ * * * m
C. High blood pressure, chest pain, heart murmur or any disease or disorder of the heart or circulatory system?
Answer: No
3. Do you take medication?
Answer: No
4. Have you ever received treatment or joined an organization for alcoholism or drug addiction?
Answer: No

After receiving the application, Woodmen contacted Lintgen for a telephone interview. Lintgen told the caller he had been hospitalized in 1983. He gave the treating physician’s name to the interviewer and explained that he was treated for being “upset because of his son’s death.”

On April 4, 1984, Lintgen was admitted to St. Cloud Hospital and remained there for 20 days. His condition was again diagnosed as a depressive reaction to family problems.

During the same time, Clement spoke to Lintgen’s sister, who told him Lintgen was being hospitalized. She also told him that Lintgen had been hospitalized for alcohol treatment in 1976. Clement immediately passed this information on to Woodmen’s state manager.

Lintgen was released from the hospital on April 24. On May 9, a nurse gave him a physical examination on behalf of Woodmen and asked Lintgen a list of medical history questions. Woodmen provided the examination forms, paid the nurse $10 and directed him to perform only part of the described examination.

The trial court found that Lintgen made false statements to the examining nurse which caused the following false findings on the nurse’s examination report:

*78 7. Do you find evidence of past or present disease or abnormality or is there a history of the following:
A. Epilepsy, nervous breakdown or any disease or disorder of the brain or nervous system?
Answer: No
* ⅝ ⅜ sjs ⅛: ⅝
K. Within the past five years any other illness or injury not mentioned above?
Answer: No
15. Is medication taken?
Answer: No

On June 1, 1984, Woodmen issued the policy. Woodmen underwriter Ms. Kennedy testified that she based her decision to issue the policy on the answers in Lintgen’s application, the record of the telephone interview and the nurse’s examination. She did not request to review his medical records and testified that she did not receive any other information on Lintgen’s medical history from Clement or the state manager. She said that the most significant omissions concerning his medical history were Lintgen’s continuing treatment for depression and stress, stress-related medication and his 1984 hospitalization. Based on the full medical record which she reviewed in preparation for trial, Kennedy stated that she would have denied Lint-gen’s application for insurance.

Lintgen collapsed at a restaurant on January 1, 1985, and died shortly thereafter. Woodmen refused payment under his 1984 life insurance policy.

ISSUES

1. Did the trial court err in finding that the erroneous answers given on the application and to the nurse examiner were material misrepresentations which could void the insurance contract?

2. Based on the facts of this case, can this court find as a matter of law that misstatements on the application for insurance and on the examination report were willfully false or intentionally misleading?

DISCUSSION

The scope of review upon appeal from a judgment is whether the evidence was sufficient to support the trial court’s findings and whether the findings support its conclusions of law. Gruenhagen v. Larson, 310 Minn. 454, 458, 246 N.W.2d 565, 569 (1976). This court must not set aside the trial court’s findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous, with due regard given to the trial court’s' opportunity to judge the credibility of witnesses. Minn.R.Civ.P. 52.-01; Northern States Power Co. v. Lyon Food Products, Inc., 304 Minn. 196, 201, 229 N.W.2d 521, 524 (1975).

I

The conservator makes a technical argument that the application and the nurse’s examination report were not attached to the insurance policy when it was issued to Lintgen. Minn.Stat. § 61A.03, subd. 1(d) (1988), provides that no statement voids a life insurance policy unless it is in writing and is attached to the policy when issued.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
451 N.W.2d 75, 1990 Minn. App. LEXIS 139, 1990 WL 7672, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-cloud-national-bank-trust-co-v-woodmen-of-the-world-life-insurance-minnctapp-1990.