Texas Prudential Insurance Company v. Dillard

307 S.W.2d 242, 158 Tex. 15, 1 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 65, 1957 Tex. LEXIS 523
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 20, 1957
DocketA-6211
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 307 S.W.2d 242 (Texas Prudential Insurance Company v. Dillard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texas Prudential Insurance Company v. Dillard, 307 S.W.2d 242, 158 Tex. 15, 1 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 65, 1957 Tex. LEXIS 523 (Tex. 1957).

Opinions

Mr. Justice Garwood

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The application for writ of error in this case and the answer thereto present two questions, as follows: (1) As a matter of law on the evidence was the deceased insured, Clarence Gurthery Dillard, not in good health within the meaning of the life insurance policy in suit when the policy was delivered to him on or about April 15th, 1953, by petitioner, Texas Prudential Insurance Company? (2) if he was not, has the petitioner insurer waived the “good health” provision or its right to invoke it in this suit? We hold that the insured was not in good health and that there was no waiver.

The insured applied for the policy on a “nonmedical” basis on March 30th, 1953, the application specifying a death benefit $2,032.00 in favor of his mother, the respondent Oral Vera Dillard. As hereinafter more fully stated in connection with question (2) above, the application form, or page, on which the insured made his application, contained no inquiry as to whether he had epilepsy, and he was not asked that question by petitioner’s soliciting agent, nor was a medical examination required. The policy was duly issued as applied for with an effective date of April 15, 1953. The insured died on January 20, 1954. Petitioner denied liability on the policy and this suit was instituted thereon.

The policy provision in question reads:

[18]*18“This policy shall not be deemed to be in force nor shall the Company be liable hereunder until this policy is manually received by the Insured during his lifetime and while in good health and full settlement made for the first premium called for on the first page of this policy; • then upon such delivery it shall become effective as of the effective date of the policy.”

The particular defense based on this provision was made the subject matter of a single special issue to the jury, as follows: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that on April 15, 1953 Clarence Guthery Dillard was in good health?” The jury answered “Yes.” (Other findings confirmed that the insured had actually made representations of good health, or absence of bad health, and of not having consulted physicians within the preceding five years, as set forth in his application. It was also found that these representations were believed by the soliciting agent who took the application. However, further findings were to the effect that such representations were either not false, not material, not relied on by the petiitoner insurer, or not intentionally made. Apparently as a result of these latter findings the petitioner insurer does not at this stage rely on the defense of misrepresentations as such, but only on a breach of the above-mentioned “good health” stipulation in the policy itself.) Judgment was entered for respondent on the jury verdict and the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed. 297 S.W. 2d 265. Petitioner here contends, as it did below, that as a matter of law on the evidence the insured was not in good health on the date in question and that accordingly a valid condition precedent to the policy’s becoming effective was not satisfied. American Nat. Ins. Co. v. Lawson, 133 Texas 146, 127 S.W. 2d 294.

The testimony in this latter connection is largely uncontradicted. It appears that the insured was twenty-four years of age at the time the policy of insurance was delivered, was somewhere between five feet, six inches and six feet tall, weighed approximately one hundred and sixty-five pounds, was strongly built and had the appearance of being in good health. Moreover, at that time, there is no evidence of any internal or nonapparent illness or abnormality except as hereinafter stated. At least as early as 1944, however, at the age of 16 years, he had suffered a convulsive seizure of a type commonly associated with epilepsy. About a year and a half later (1946) he joined the Army, but within less than two months thereafter was given a medical discharge for “psychoneurosis, conversion reaction.” In August and October, 1947, he consulted a Dr. Rounsaville, whose testi[19]*19mony is hereinafter discussed. This physician prescribed for him dilantan sodium, a sedative kind of drug generally prescribed only for epileptics, which tends to suppress convulsions. While the insured took this medicine more or less regularly thereafter, in the latter half of 1948, he entered, and spent approximately a month in, a Veteran’s Administration Hospital, where his illness was diagnosed as epilepsy and where he suffered additional convulsive seizures.

Except for his time out at the hospital in 1948, he evidently worked more or less regularly, although for different employers, from the time of his medical discharge from the Army in 1946 until May, 1953, or very shortly after he took out the policy in suit. At that time he ceased work for some two months, resuming employment in July, 1953, only to stop again some four months later — in November, 1953. While still unemployed, on January 17th, 1954, he began to suffer a series of continuous convulsive seizures, which culminated in his death on January 20th. Although the record does not give the specific dates of all, or even many, of his seizures, nor connect them clearly with his periodical suspensions or changes of employment, the only fair inference is that, between 1944 and the onset of his final series of convulsions in January, 1954, he suffered an average of more than one seizure per year, including at least one in each year prior to taking out the policy in suit in 1953.

The principal witnesses testifying on behalf of the respondent beneficiary as to the generally healthy appearance and activity of the insured were the respondent herself, her daughter (sister of the insured) and a young lady, Mrs. Caldwell, who, prior to her marriage, was a high school classmate of the sister and friend of the latter and the insured. The first two witnesses lived in the same house with the insured up to and including the time the policy was taken out. However, Mrs. Caldwell appears to have known him largely as an incident to her acquaintance with his sister, and seems to have seen little of him after 1948, around which time she apparently married Mr. Caldwell. All of these witnesses testified unequivocally to the fact of the respondent’s having seizures prior to the time he took out the policy, and the portion of their testimony pointing toward good health of the insured is obviously qualified accordingly.

A sample of the testimony of the respondent is:

“Q. Now, from your knowledge, do you know whether Clarence had Epilepsy?

[20]*20“A. Well, that is what they called it. Now, I don’t know. As far as I know * * * that is all I know.

“Q. From 1948, from the time he got out of the Army up until the time of his death, tell this jury approximately how often he would have such attacks, if he had them at all.

“A. Well, sometimes he would go as high as almost a year; and sometimes then he would have one in six months * * * go six months without having one.

“Q. Now, except for the interval of time in which he was actually having such an attack, did he ever evidence any other symptom of ill-health to you?

“A. No, sir, not ever.”

The respondent also confirmed that the insured went to the Veteran’s Hospital in 1948.

Samples of the testimony of the sister are:

“Q. Did you ever observe anything else concerning Clarence’s condition other than these periodic attacks that he might have?

“A.

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

Related

Guillermo Garza D/B/A Wilhome Builders & Construction v. Jesse Cantu
431 S.W.3d 96 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Assurity Life Insurance v. Grogan
480 F.3d 743 (Fifth Circuit, 2007)
Abraxas Petroleum Corp. v. Hornburg
20 S.W.3d 741 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Hampton v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
778 S.W.2d 476 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989)
Kaspar v. Thorne
755 S.W.2d 151 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1988)
West End API, Ltd. v. Rothpletz
732 S.W.2d 371 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)
Carter v. Service Life & Casualty Insurance Co.
703 S.W.2d 349 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1985)
Mayes v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
608 S.W.2d 612 (Texas Supreme Court, 1980)
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Mayes
592 S.W.2d 393 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1979)
Allied Bankers Life Insurance Co. v. De La Cerda
584 S.W.2d 529 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1979)
Washington v. Reliable Life Insurance Co.
581 S.W.2d 153 (Texas Supreme Court, 1979)
Reliable Life Insurance Co. v. Washington
570 S.W.2d 24 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1978)
Dickson v. Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co.
562 S.W.2d 925 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1978)
Bettis v. Bettis
518 S.W.2d 396 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1975)
National Old Line Insurance Co. v. Garcia
517 S.W.2d 621 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)
Reliable Life Insurance Co. v. Williams
514 S.W.2d 768 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
307 S.W.2d 242, 158 Tex. 15, 1 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 65, 1957 Tex. LEXIS 523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-prudential-insurance-company-v-dillard-tex-1957.