Lynch v. Metropolitan Life Insurance
Lynch v. Metropolitan Life Insurance
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The refusal of motions for a judgment non obstante veredicto or, in the alternative, a new trial in an as
Important to a determination of one phase of this appeal, a recital of certain facts is necessary.
Jarman Lynch (Lynch), 21 years of age and with a very limited educational background, in the early part of 1958 noticed a “fullness in his right testicle”. On August 25, 1958, he consulted a doctor who referred him to the University of Pennsylvania Surgical Clinic which he attended, first as an out-patient on August 29, 1958, and later as an in-patient on September 1, 1958. At that time, Lynch authorized the removal of his right testicle and such surgery took place on September 4, 1958. Discharged from the hospital on September 11, 1958, he had another hospital examination on September 18, 1958 and he was told to return in November for chest X-rays. Lynch was not advised of the diagnosis of his condition other than the necessity of removing his right testicle. Prior and subsequent to the surgery, Lynch was regularly employed in work which required lifting of heavy objects. During October, 1958, he experienced pains in his back which radiated down his right leg, pains which he associated with the performance of his work.
Thereafter, Lynch applied to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Company), for an unrated policy of life insurance and, at that time, he signed part A of the usual life insurance application. On November 4, 1958, he signed part B of the application which consisted of questions addressed to him by the Company’s medical examiner and his responses thereto. At that time the Company’s medical examiner gave Lynch a physical examination. Lynch stated, in response to the part B questions, that: (a) he was then in good health and able to perform his full duties; (b) he had been “last sick” in 1957 in Washington, D. C. with a cold of “few days duration”; (c) he had not lost time from
Subsequent to execution of part B of the application, on two occasions — November 13 and 15, 1958— Lynch, complaining of back and leg pains, visited a doctor and, on November 13, 1958, returned to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital for chest X-rays which proved negative. One week later, Lynch, complaining of chest, spine and leg pains, returned to the hospital as an out-patient and the following day — November 21, 1958 — -was given X-ray examinations which, unknown to Lynch, disclosed “extensive osseous metastatic disease”. Deep X-ray treatments were begun and continued almost daily until December 2, 1958. During this period, Lynch suffered nausea, vomiting, malaise and continued back pain and, during the last week of November, he ceased working.
In the meantime, Lynch applied to the Company for a rated insurance policy rather than the undelivered unrated policy previously applied for and he was requested to and did execute an amendment to his pre
Lynch later went to Duke University Hospital in North Carolina where he was hospitalized from December 17 to December 23, 1958. He died on January 24, 1959 of rhabdomyoscareoma, which the Company contends, spread from the right testicle to other parts of his body, a condition diagnosed at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in September 1958.
Upon refusal to pay the policy, Averlean Lynch, widow-beneficiary under the policy, instituted an assumpsit action against the Company in Court of Common Pleas No. 7 of Philadelphia County. Upon issue joined — complaint, answer containing new matter and reply to new matter — the ease was heard before a court and jury and a verdict rendered in favor of Averlean Lynch and against the Company in the ámount of $11,-770.06. Refusal of the Company’s motions for judgment n.o.v. and a new trial resulted in the entry of judgment on the verdict and this appeal.
The Company advances two reasons for the entry of judgment n.o.v.: (1) the application amendment of December 2, 1958, and the original applications of October 24 and November 4, 1958, being part of the policy
Motion for Judgment N.O.V.
In passing upon the propriety of entering a judgment n.o.v., we must view the evidence, together with ail the reasonable inferences therefrom, in the light-most favorable to Averlean Lynch, the verdict-winner: Brandon v. Peoples Natural Gas Co., 417 Pa. 128, 130, 207 A. 2d 843 (1965). Moreover, on the state of this record, we cannot find that the amendment was not attached to the policy, in fact, the Company tried the case on that theory and, in passing upon this motion,
It is evident that Lynch’s statements were material to the risk and, in certain instances, were contrary to the facts of his medical background. However, the evidence as to whether Lynch, when he made the statements, knew of their falsity or made them in bad faith falls short of the standard of proof upon which the entry of a judgment n.o.v. can be predicated. The record portrays Lynch as a young man with a meagre educational background who was advised to and did submit to an operation for the removal of a testicle to relieve a condition of “fullness” therein. Insofar as the record indicates, Lynch at least prior to the time when he executed the amendment to the application, did not know that the difficulty in the testicle and the radiating pains in his chest, leg and back arose from the on
The Company also argues that the continued insurability provision of the policy bars recovery by Aver-lean Lynch because the insured was suffering from incurable cancer at the time the policy was issued. However, this was not known to the insured and, furthermore, the Company had had the insured examined by its medical examiner at the time. The jury could well have concluded that the insured had no intent to deceive. Ciesielski v. Prudential Insurance Co., 416 Pa. 146, 205 A. 2d 42 (1954). Cf. Davidson v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., 159 Pa. Superior Ct. 532, 49 A. 2d 185 (1946); Prudential Life Ins. Co. v. Kudoba, 323 Pa. 30, 36, 186 A. 793 (1936). Benzinger v. Prudential Life Insurance Co., 317 Pa. 561, 564, 176 A. 922 (1935), upon which the Company relies, is factually inapposite.
Motion for a New Trial
Attached as an exhibit to the complaint were the policy, parts A and B of the policy application and the application amendment of December 2, 1958 which Aver lean Lynch averred she “believe [d] to be a true and correct copy of this policy” (Para. 3). At trial, Mrs. Lynch stated that she did not “remember” whether the application was part of the policy at the time she presented it to the Company. Mrs. Lynch’s counsel offered in evidence the policy without the application amendment; to this offer the Company’s counsel objected. The trial court ruled that, since the application amendment had been pleaded in the complaint and had been identified as having been attached to the policy when the claim was rejected, the policy with the amendment attached was admissible in evidence. Upon completion of the testimony, the trial court, affirming
“That is a correct statement of the law, and I have so stated to you. The significance of that attachment or nonattachment to the policy is: Was this part of the contract between the parties as of the date it speaks of, namely, December the 2nd, 1958. That is one day after the policy, itself, was dated, December the 1st, 1958, and that is a correct statement of the law. Was it part of the contract between the parties, and was it attached to the policy?”
The law is clear that, while the failure to attach an application for a life insurance policy does not affect the validity or admissibility in evidence of the policy itself, (Ellis v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 228 Pa. 230, 77 A. 460 (1910)), the failure to attach the application to the policy when delivered renders the application inadmissible in evidence (Act of May 17, 1921, P. L. 682, §318, 40 P.S. §441; Syme v. Bankers National Life Insurance Co., 393 Pa. 600, 144 A. 2d 845 (1958); Sandberg v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 342 Pa. 326, 20 A. 2d 230 (1941) ; Goldin, The Law of Insurance in Pennsylvania, Yol. II (2d ed.), §725, pp. 598, 599. In the case at bar, whether the application amendment was attached to the policy when delivered was of vital importance since the Company relied thereon for proof of Lynch’s ratification of the Lynch’s statements in part B of the application.
The trial court’s original ruling as to the admissibility of this application amendment followed by the court’s instructions to the jury on this issue created an
Since this case must be retried, it may not be amiss for us to comment on the receipt into evidence of two pictures of Lynch taken at the time of his marriage on July 12, 1958. The purpose of the offer of these photographs was to show how Lynch looked within several months of the application for insurance. Whether or not such photographs were admissible was clearly within the discretion of the trial court (Nyce v. Muffley, 384 Pa. 107, 111, 119 A. 2d 530 (1956)); no abuse of such discretion has been demonstrated.
The judgment is reversed and a new trial granted.
Cf. Evans, supra, at p. 563; Travellers Insurance Company v. Heppenstall Co., 360 Pa. 433, 437-439, 61 A. 2d 809 (1948); Burton v. Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co., 368 Pa. 613, 614, 84 A. 2d 310 (1951); Ciesielski v. Prudential Insurance Co., 416 Pa. 146, 205 A. 2d 42 (1964).
Concurring in Part
Concurring and Dissenting Opinion by
I concur in the refusal of a motion for judgment non obstante veredicto, but dissent in the awarding of a new trial. I do not believe that the insurance company was prejudiced by the trial court’s ruling on the application amendment to the extent that it could not have introduced evidence in support of its position.
Reference
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- Lynch v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Appellant
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