Vutci v. Indianapolis Life Insurance

403 N.W.2d 157, 157 Mich. App. 429
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 2, 1987
DocketDocket 84440
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 403 N.W.2d 157 (Vutci v. Indianapolis Life Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vutci v. Indianapolis Life Insurance, 403 N.W.2d 157, 157 Mich. App. 429 (Mich. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinions

Beasley, J.

On January 22, 1985, plaintiff, Robert Fred Vutci, personal representative of the estate of Peter Vutci, deceased, filed suit alleging that defendants, Indianapolis Life Insurance Company (ilic) and its agent, Nancy J. Adams, had acted negligently in persuading Peter Vutci to cancel his existing life insurance policy and to purchase a replacement policy. Plaintiff also alleged that defendant Adams had breached an implied contract to properly advise Vutci in procuring appropriate life insurance coverage. Both defendants brought a motion for accelerated judgment and summary judgment under GCR 1963, 116.1(5) and 117.2(1), now MCR 2.116(C)(7) and (8), alleging that plaintiff’s claims were precluded by application of the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel, that plaintiff’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations, and that plaintiff had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The trial judge granted defendants’ motion and dismissed plaintiff’s complaint without identifying the specific basis for [433]*433granting defendants’ motion. Plaintiff appeals as of right.

Our review of the record reveals the long factual and procedural history of this case. Defendant ilic issued a life insurance policy with a face value of $17,000 to Peter Vutci in 1966. Allegedly, defendant Adams, the agent of ilic, visited Peter Vutci on March 1, 1979, and advised him to cancel his existing life insurance policy and to apply for a new life insurance policy from ilic. The record reveals that as of March 1, 1979, Peter Vutci had borrowed $5,000 against his existing life insurance policy. Allegedly, defendant Adams advised Vutci that he could cancel his existing policy and convert it into a paid up policy with a face value of $1,000.

Adams also allegedly persuaded Vutci to purchase a new ilic life insurance policy with a face value of $18,055. Plaintiff alleges that Adams, in assisting Peter Vutci to apply for the new life insurance policy and in order to obtain her sales commission, advised him to make certain misrepresentations concerning his current state of health. Vutci was sixty-four years old when he applied for the new life insurance policy, and his health had recently deteriorated. He was a heavy smoker, suffered from diabetes and had a history of recent hospitalizations at the time he applied for the new life insurance policy. In applying for the new policy, Vutci expressly denied being a smoker, suffering from diabetes or having been hospitalized in the past.

Ilic issued the new life insurance policy to Vutci on September 1, 1979. Vutci had paid $100 per month in premiums on the new policy since March, 1979, and he continued to make these premium payments until his death on November 12, 1980. Following Vutci’s death, plaintiff, Vutci’s [434]*434son, demanded that ilic pay the face value amount of the new policy to the named beneficiaries, Vutci’s two minor grandsons. On April 10, 1981, the ilic formally notified plaintiff that it would not honor the policy and tendered a check representing the amount of premiums that had been paid by Peter Vutci on the new policy.

On October 11, 1983, plaintiff, representing the minor beneficiaries, filed suit against ilic in Wayne Circuit Court. Plaintiff alleged that ilic, in failing to pay the face amount to the beneficiaries, had breached the contract of insurance under the new policy. Plaintiff also alleged that ilic had misled Peter Vutci into believing he was adequately insured by accepting his premium payments on the new policy and, thus, ilic was es-topped from dishonoring the policy and that ilic’s refusal to pay was in "bad faith.”

On November 15, 1983, ilic petitioned to have plaintiff’s action removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, based on the total diversity of citizenship between the parties. The petition was granted and, in the federal district court, ilic brought a motion for summary judgment claiming that Vutci’s material misrepresentations concerning his health which he had made when he applied for the new insurance policy excused ilic from liability under the policy. In responding to ilic’s motion for summary judgment, plaintiff took the deposition testimony of Nancy Adams on October 22, 1984. Plaintiff claims that this was the first time he became aware of Adams’ dealings with Peter Vutci involving cancellation of the former life insurance policy and application for the new policy. Plaintiff then made a motion to amend his complaint in federal court so as to add Adams as a defendant and to include [435]*435his negligence and implied contract claims against Adams.

On January 3, 1985, Federal District Judge Avern Cohn granted ilic’s motion for summary judgment by finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Vutci had made material misrepresentations in applying for the new insurance policy. Therefore, Judge Cohn dismissed plaintiffs claims which had all been based on a claim that ilic had breached the terms and conditions of the new insurance policy. In addition, Judge Cohn denied plaintiffs motion to amend his complaint in order to add Adams as a defendant and to include his negligence and implied contract claims based on her role in persuading Vutci to cancel his former insurance policy. In denying plaintiff’s motion, Judge Cohn expressly stated that the denial was without prejudice and was based on the fact that adding Adams as a defendant would destroy total diversity. Judge Cohn concluded that whatever wrong the' agent committed, if any, must be decided in a different case than the then-existing federal court action.

Following the grant of summary judgment to ilic on the breach of contract claim arising out of the new insurance policy, plaintiff, as the representative of Peter Vutci, filed the within case based on Adams’ actions in persuading Vutci to cancel his old insurance policy and apply for the new policy. As previously indicated, defendants’ motion for accelerated and summary judgment was granted by the trial judge.

On appeal, plaintiff first argues that the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel do not apply in this situation as to either defendant. Plaintiff contends that his prior contract action that had been removed to the federal district court does not preclude him from raising his negligence [436]*436and implied contract claims in this separate, subsequent state court action.

In addressing plaintiffs argument concerning the possible res judicata effect of plaintiffs federal action, we first note that the fact that the federal court action was brought under a breach of an express contract theory while the within action is brought under negligence and breach of implied contract theories does not necessarily render the doctrine of res judicata inapplicable. The Michigan Supreme Court has adopted the "broad” application of the res judicata doctrine, barring both claims actually litigated in the prior action and those claims arising out of the same transaction which plaintiff could have brought, but did not.1 Therefore, if plaintiffs negligence and breach of implied contract claims asserted in this action arise out of the same transaction as the express contract claim actually litigated in the prior federal court action, the doctrine of res judicata would apply in this situation. However, if the present claims do not arise out of the same transaction as the claim litigated in the federal action, the doctrine of res judicata does not apply.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
403 N.W.2d 157, 157 Mich. App. 429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vutci-v-indianapolis-life-insurance-michctapp-1987.