Meier v. Pacific Life Ins. Co.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-insurance company’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-insured’s action, alleging that defendant wrongfully denied plaintiff’s claim for life insurance benefits, where: (1) at time plaintiff’s husband signed application for insurance policy, he was unaware of his stage IV lung cancer; (2) plaintiff’s husband subsequently became aware of said diagnosis, but failed to notify defendant of his cancer diagnosis prior to signing actual policy; and (3) husband died approximately one year after signing policy without ever notifying defendant of cancer diagnosis. Language in policy application required husband to notify defendant of any changes in his health between time of application and issuance of policy, and husband’s failure to inform defendant of his known stage IV cancer diagnosis by time he received policy amounted to material misrepresentation that allowed defendant to rescind policy and return premiums to plaintiff. Ct. rejected plaintiff’s contention that husband had no duty to disclose his cancer diagnosis, when he only learned of said diagnosis after he had signed application for policy.