The Law Office of Mark S. Humphreys, P.C., recently got a surprise for his client when contesting an ERISA life insurance claim. The insured worked in Louisiana and had a life insurance policy through his employer. The insured was not married and did not have any children. Thus, the insured…
Here is a life insurance case that involves a plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). It is a 2018, 5th Circuit Court of Appeals case styled, Jason Crawford v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. This is a summary judgment case granted in favor of MetLife. This Court sustained…
Life Insurance cases can have a surprising number of twists to them. Readers of the DallasFortWorthInsuranceBlog have seen some of these various twists. The U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, issued an opinion in a case styled, Reliastar Life Insurance v. Trina R. Wiemer, Laura R. Weimer,…
This 2018, Fort Worth Court of Appeals opinion is unique and involves a situation most life insurance lawyers will not ever see, however, it is worth knowing about due to some of the ruling by the appeals court. The case is styled, Old American Insurance Company v. Lincoln Factoring, LLC.…
Here is a situation almost never seen. It involves a case out of the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. It is styled, William M Arrington, Individually, as Beneficiary, and as Representative of the Estate of William L. Arrington v. Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Danny C. Burba, and Gordon…
Most people would agree that reading legal papers can be confusing. As it relates to life insurance policies the law in favor of the insured. This is illustrated in the Houston [14th Dist.] Court of Appeals opinion, Parchman v. United Liberty Life Insurance Co., a 1982 opinion. The Parchman case…
One of the issues confronted by life insurance lawyers deals with situations where the life insurance company is claiming misrepresentation in the policy application and as a result of the misrepresentation, coverage is denied. A 1972 opinion from the Texas Supreme Court is language and law that life insurance lawyers…
Here is an interesting case form the U.S. Northern District, Dallas Division, regarding payment on a life insurance policy. The case is styled, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Michael Wayne Battle II. Metlife offers life insurance to federal employees through a program referred to here as FEGLI. The Office of…
Exclusions in life insurance policies are common. The Texas Insurance Code, Section 1101.055 limits the permissible life insurance exclusions to suicide, stated hazardous occupations, and aviation activities. Courts have construed this list to render void other exclusions, such as one excluding a loss caused by a preexisting condition. A 1921,…
This may seem strange but there are times an insurance company will deny a claim for life insurance benefits based on their assertion that the insured has not been proven to be dead. This is discussed in the 1987, Texas Supreme Court opinion styled, Davidson v. Great National Life Insurance…