Columbian Nat. Life Ins. Co. v. Lanigan
| Decision Date | 28 July 1944 |
| Citation | 19 So.2d 67,154 Fla. 760 |
| Parties | COLUMBIAN NAT. LIFE INS. CO. v. LANIGAN et al. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Rehearing Denied Sept. 7, 1944.
Appeal from Circuit Court, Pinellas County; John U Bird, judge.
Shackleford Farrior & Shannon, of Tampa, and Bailey Aldrich, of Boston, Mass., for appellants.
Casler & Douglas, of Clearwater, for appellee.
Columbian National Life Insurance Company brought suit in equity for rescission and cancellation of two life insurance policies issued on the life of James A. Lanigan on December 2, 1940. In its bill of complaint the company alleged that on November 27, 1940 before issuance of the policies, certain written questions material to the risk were propounded to the applicant, who answered them falsely with intent to deceive the insurer into accepting him as a policyholder, and that in reliance upon said answers the company issued the policies, which otherwise it would not have done had true answers been given and the real facts divulged. The questions charged to have been falsely answered concerned bodily ailments, diseases, or disorders suffered by applicant prior to the issuance of the policies. It is averred in the bill that to the questions propounded, applicant answered that he had never had any personal injury or accident and had never received indemnity for accident or illness; that he had had no medical advice or illness for a period of five years previous to the application; and that he had never suffered from, taken treatment for or consulted a physician for any complaint or infection of the throat or lungs or digestive organs, except that he had had an appendectomy in 1934 and a perforated ulcer about 1925, from which there had been a complete recovery. The bill charges that the answers given by Lanigan were not complete and true but were incomplete and false, in that, in addition to the treatment for ulcer in 1925, Lanigan had been confined in a hospital and operated upon for perforated duodenal ulcer in 1933, and again in 1935. He had been confined in a hsospital and treated by physicians for chronic peptic ulcer of the stomach in 1934, and again in 1936. In the latter year he had also been confined in a hospital and treated by physicians for lobar pneumonia. In 1936, and twice in 1939, he had received indemnity for accidents and illness necessitating treatment by physicians.
By amendment to the bill the company pleaded that the policies were applied for delivered, and the first premiums paid in the State of Rhode Island; and that under the law of Rhode Island statements in the application constitute warranties, which, if materially untrue as written, will void the policy. The relief sought by the bill was that the policies be declared void and of no effect and that the defendant be required to deliver them up to the plaintiff for cancellation upon return to him of premiums paid.
Lanigan filed answer to the bill denying that he in anywise concealed from the plaintiff any information relative to his medical history and that any statements made by him were false or calculated to deceive or to induce the plaintiff to issue a policy of insurance which it would otherwise not have issued. Answering further, the defendant alleged, in essence, that prior to the issuance of the policies a medical examiner acting for the company called upon him at his home and interrogated him at length concerning his past medical history and present ailments and disorders. Applicant informed the medical examiner to the best of his memory and recollection of all details concerning past or present diseases or disorders, giving full information as to where and by whom he had been treated on each occasion. Applicant likewise specifically advised the medical examiner that he could not remember exact dates of various treatments received by him in the past but that if more complete information were needed, the medical examiner or other representative of the company had full permission to consult with physicians who had treated applicant and inspect records of the hospital where he had been confined on each occasion. From the information so given by the applicant the medical examiner, himself, filled out the application for insurance, writing into the medical report such answers as he deemed were responsive, relevant, and material to the subject of inquiry, then and there giving applicant to understand that he had set down all of the information in which the company was interested or which it needed in order to determine the desirability of the risk. If the insurance company was in anywise misled or deceived with reference to the facts of applicant's medical history, the same resulted from the failure of the medical examiner to properly record and report to the company the verbal answers given to the questions propounded.
By amendment to the answer the defendant denied that the transaction was governed by the law of the State of Rhode Island and averred that it was governed by the law of the State of Massachusetts.
Testimony was taken on the issues made by the pleadings. The defendant's version of the transaction was that he was engaged in the business of operating a dairy farm at the time the policies issued. He resided at Seekonk, Massachusetts--a suburb of Providence, Rhode Island. Columbian National Life Insurance Company maintained an office at Providence. An agent from the Providence office sold Lanigan his policies. The medical examiner for the company came out from Providence to examine the applicant while applicant was busily engaged in his farm duties. The doctor asked questions, apparently reading from a form for medical report which he held in his hand. To the questions put, Lanigan attempted full, detailed and correct answers as best he could from his understanding of the questions and his recollection of the matters and things questioned about. Lanigan withheld none of the facts that were within his recollection. He told of at least two operations of a serious nature which he had undergone prior to the examination, these being the only ones that he could remember at the moment. One was an operation for stomach ulcers in May 1925; the other was either an appendectomy or an operation for stomach ulcers around 1933, 1934 or 1935. He told the examiner of subsequent physical check-ups for stomach and digestive disorders on which occasions he had described to his physician a recurrence of abdominal pains and had been advised by the physician that he had nothing to worry about as such pains were to be expected after an operation. He gave the names of all physicians who tended him during the period, and the Rhode Island Hospital, located in Providence, as the place where the operations had been performed.
To the question, 'Have you had any medical advice during the past five years?' he responded, He was asked by the physician, reading from the record, 'Have you had any disease, illness, injury or operation other than stated by you above?' to which he answered 'Honestly, you had better consult the Rhode Island Hospital.' To this response the examiner replied,
From the facts given by the appellant the medical examiner deduced the answers,...
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