Lipitz v. Washington Nat. Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 23 March 1981 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 80-2903. |
| Citation | 513 F. Supp. 606 |
| Parties | Leonard LIPITZ v. WASHINGTON NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. and Stanley Silverman |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Kenneth S. Siegel, Philadelphia, Pa., for plaintiff.
Gordon W. Gerber, Philadelphia, Pa., for Washington Nat. Ins. Co.
Thomas H. Goldsmith, Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant.
Presently before the Court are defendant Washington National Insurance Company's motions to dismiss plaintiff's complaint and to dismiss the cross-claim of its codefendant on the grounds that both raise claims which are time-barred. For the reasons stated below, both motions will be denied.
Plaintiff brought this action to recover damages for the alleged negligence of defendants Washington National Insurance Company ("Washington National") and Stanley Silverman ("Silverman") in failing to provide plaintiff with health insurance for his daughter Meryl Lipitz. The complaint states the following well-pleaded facts: In October of 1973, plaintiff engaged Silverman to procure an insurance policy on his behalf which would cover medical expenses incurred by plaintiff or members of his family. Silverman obtained an application for medical insurance from Washington National, which he then completed and submitted to the insurance company. In the course of preparing the application, Silverman asked Washington National, through its agents, whether Meryl Lipitz, who was 19 years old and a full-time college student, would be eligible for coverage. Washington National replied that she would not be eligible. Silverman told plaintiff that his daughter could not be covered and did not include her on the application. The policy was issued on December 7, 1973, covering only plaintiff, his wife and three of his four children.
Late in 1974, Meryl Lipitz developed a severe mental illness which required hospitalization and treatment from 1974 through 1976. In 1975, plaintiff submitted claims to Washington National to recover the costs of his daughter's treatment, but Washington National denied coverage.
The present action was filed on July 24, 1980. Plaintiff does not claim that he is entitled to recover under the policy. He claims instead that defendants were negligent in informing him that his daughter was ineligible for coverage when, in fact, she was. Plaintiff claims that the policy could have covered his daughter because it includes a provision stating that the policy's coverage extends to dependents of the named insured under 19 years of age "or under 23 years of age if enrolled as full-time students in a college or university." See Complaint, Ex. A, at 8. In his answer to plaintiff's complaint, Silverman included a cross-claim against Washington National, alleging that, since he only acted on the advice furnished him by Washington National, he was entitled to indemnity.
In support of its motion to dismiss the complaint, Washington National first argues that the plaintiff's action is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. While the parties agree that this action is governed by Pennsylvania's six-year limitation period applicable to actions not specifically addressed by any other statute of limitations, 42 Pa.Cons.Stat. § 5527(6), the parties disagree as to when the cause of action, if any, accrued.
Washington National contends that the cause of action accrued on December 7, 1973, when the policy was issued without covering Meryl Lipitz because the present action amounts to an action to reform the contract to provide coverage for Meryl Lipitz. Since plaintiff could have brought such an action at any time after the policy was issued on December 7, 1973, Washington National argues the Court should hold that the cause of action accrued on that date. The Court disagrees. Plaintiff alleges that the action of the defendants constitutes negligence and that this negligence caused injury to the...
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