Breaux v. Stonebridge Life Insurance
Breaux v. Stonebridge Life Insurance
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM RULING
Before the court is “Stonebridge Life’s Motion for Summary Judgment” (R. # 15) wherein defendant, Stonebridge Life Insurance Company (“Stonebridge”) moves for summary judgment in its favor, dismissing plaintiffs claims for life insurance benefits. Stonebridge maintains that no benefit is owed on the policy because the Certificate of Accidental Death Insurance contained an exclusion which is applicable to the facts of this case. For the following reasons, the motion will be granted dismissing plaintiffs claim for benefits.
FACTUAL STATEMENT
On August 30, 2009, Robyn Stevens Breaux died. Stonebridge, issued a life insurance policy that was in effect when Mrs. Breaux died.
The Death Certificate lists “RECENT DRUG INTAKE” as a contributing factor of the probable cause of death.
On July 14, 2010, plaintiff, John L. Breaux, Jr. made a claim for death benefits under the policy which Stonebridge denied due to an exclusion in the policy. In his Proof of Accidental Death, Mr. Breaux claims that his wife died as a result of an “intake of prescribed meds.”
In response to the claim, Stonebridge investigated the claim and determined from the autopsy report conducted by the coroner’s office in Jackson County, Mississippi that Mrs. Breaux’s blood revealed the following drug levels:
Morphine 300 ng/ml
Hydrocodone 1125.0 ng/ml
Hydromorphone 10 ng/ml
Diazepan 1254 ng/ml
Desmethyldiazepam 680 ng/ml
Temazepam 110 ng/ml
The Report of Death Investigation by the State Medical Examiner reflects that “Dr. Paul McGarry was requested to perform autopsy and the death is ruled drug related.”
Stonebridge denied the life insurance benefit because it determined that Mrs. Breaux’s death was caused either by morphine that was not prescribed to her, or because the non-prescribed morphine was a contributing cause of her death. Mr. Breaux filed the instant lawsuit to recover the benefits allegedly due for his wife’s accidental death.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD
Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, when viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, indicate that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
LAW AND ANALYSIS
In denying coverage for the life insurance benefits, Stonebridge relied on an exclusion which provides that “No benefit shall be paid for injury that: ... occurs while the Covered Person is taking or using any narcotic or barbiturate unless taken or used as prescribed by a physician.”
Plaintiff maintains that Stonebridge cannot meet its burden of proof as to the applicability of the exclusion. Plaintiff relies on Davis v. Peoples Benefit Life Ins. Co.,
As noted by Stonebridge, a contributing factor of Mrs. Breaux’s death was the lethal amount of morphine not prescribed by a physician. Plaintiff urges the court to find that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to the morphine because of the one prescribed morphine tablet, and/or that Mrs. Breaux was prescribed promethazine with codeine.
The concentration of morphine found in Ms. Breaux’s blood was 300 ng/mL; blood concentrations of morphine associated with fatalities is 200 ng/mL or greater.
Next, plaintiff argues that based on an internet article, it is possible that the codeine Mrs. Breaux was prescribed could have been a source of the morphine. Mr. Wimbish reports that literature shows that morphine at 200 ng/mL, as a metabolite of codeine, requires that codeine also be present at about 2,800 ng/mL.
Stonebridge complains that the expert report of Dr. William J. George
Plaintiff has provided this court with no explanation as to his noncompliance of the deadlines for expert reports that the parties agreed on in the Rule 26(f) report. The court finds that the expert report is untimely and will not consider the report. Furthermore, the court will strike the expert report of Dr. George from the record.
It is undisputed that the large amount of Morphine was a contributing factor in Mrs. Breaux’s death. Even if we considered Dr. George’s expert opinion, he also concluded that the combined effects of hydrocodone, diazepam and morphine at the levels reported for Ms. Breaux, would be a likely cause of her death.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the motion for summary judgment will be granted dismissing with prejudice plaintiffs claims against defendant.
. Defendant’s exhibit A.
. Defendant’s exhibit B (death certificate); Defendant's exhibit C (Autopsy Protocol).
. Defendant’s exhibit 1-E (R. # 15-3).
. Defendant’s exhibit 1-H.
. Id.
. Defendant’s exhibit 1, Declaration of Laura Allen, ¶ 3.
. Id.
. Stonebridge’s exhibit 2.
. Id., ¶ 5, and exhibit 1-D attached thereto.
. Id., ¶ 6, and exhibit 1-E attached thereto.
. Id.
. Defendant’s exhibit 5-B.
. Fed.R.Civ. P. 56(c).
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Stewart v. Murphy, 174 F.3d 530, 533 (5th Cir. 1999).
. Vera v. Tue, 73 F.3d 604, 607 (5th Cir. 1996).
. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).
. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Defendant's exhibit 1-A, p. 4.
. Defendant's exhibit 5-B.
. 47 So.3d 1033 (La.App. 1st Cir. 2010).
. Citing La. R.S. 22:975(B)(10).
. Plaintiff also argues based on its late filed expert report of Dr. George, that Mrs. Breaux's history of pain medication use make her tolerant to said drugs. Thus, plaintiff suggests that the level of Morphine in her blood was not lethal. While we note plaintiff’s argument, because of our final findings regarding the late filed expert report and our contributing factor analysis, we need not address it here.
. The court does not consider this article as proper summary judgment evidence without supporting expert testimony or opinion.
. Plaintiff's exhibit I.
. Defendant’s exhibit 5-B.
. Defendant's exhibit 5-B.
. Id.
. Dr. George opined that “more likely than not, the combination of morphine, diazepam and hydrocodone, at the levels' reported to be present in Ms. Breaux, would represent a likely cause of her death. Morphine, alone at the level reported for Ms. Breaux, would be lower than 50% of the lethal level in opiate tolerant individuals and as such would not be a likely cause of her death. Diazepam alone at the levels reported to be present in blood obtained from Ms. Breaux would not have caused her death.” Plaintiff's exhibit K, R. #8-11.
. See Barrett v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 95 F.3d 375, 380-82 (5th Cir. 1996)(district court order striking the testimony of plaintiffs’ expert for the unjustified failure to comply with the court’s scheduling order upheld); see also Atkins v. Ferro Corp., 2007 WL 4722675, *2 (M.D.La. 2007)(striking report and testimony of plaintiff's expert where plaintiff failed to comply with deadline for filing its expert report without explanation).
. Plaintiff’s exhibit K, R. # 18-11.
. Plaintiff's exhibit K, Opinions of Dr. William George. R. #18-11.
. The undersigned is not at this time condoning the court’s holding in Davis as it relates to Louisiana Revised Statute 22:975(B)(10).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John L. BREAUX, Jr. v. STONEBRIDGE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
- Status
- Published