Wilson v. Northwestern Mut. Ins. Co., No. 09-1895
Life Insurance Benefit Dispute
In Wilson v. Northwestern Mut. Ins. Co., No. 09-1895, an action claiming that plaintiff was the beneficiary of two life insurance policies issued by defendant to her late husband, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendant-insurer in part, where there were no modifications, oral or otherwise, of the written terms of the Term Life Policy. However, the court reversed in part where a reasonable jury could find that the retroactive refund by defendant was a self-serving afterthought, designed to reduce the length of the decedent's policy coverage.
As the court wrote: "Plaintiff-appellant Michelle Wilson ("Wilson") appeals from a summary judgment entered on March 31, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Young, J., sitting by designation), in favor of defendant-appellee Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company ("Northwestern") on Wilson's claim that she is the beneficiary of two life insurance policies issued to her late husband, Kenneth Wilson ("Kenneth"), by Northwestern. The District Court determined that there were no genuine issues of material fact as to Kenneth's termination of one life insurance policy, the "Whole Life Policy," on February 28, 2005, and failure to pay any premiums after that date."
Related Resources
- Read the Second Circuit's Decision in Wilson v. Northwestern Mut. Ins. Co., No. 09-1895