Hancock, et al. v. Mid Amer. Ins. Services
| Docket Number: | 2000-CA-01217-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 01-30-2003 Opinion Author: Smith, P.J. Holding: Reversed and Remanded |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Insurance - Acceptance of risk or hazard - Section 83-9-11 Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, Easley and Carlson, JJ. Pittman, C.J., Concurs in Part. Dissenting Author : Cobb, J. P.J., CONCURS IN PART AND DISSENTS IN PART COBB, J., DISSENTS WITHOUT SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION Dissent Joined By : DIAZ AND GRAVES, JJ. Concur in Part, Dissent in Part 1: McRae, P.J. Concur in Part, Dissent in Part Joined By 1: Diaz and Graves, JJ. Procedural History: Summary Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - INSURANCE |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 07-11-2000 Appealed from: Lee County Circuit Court Judge: Thomas J. Gardner Disposition: Granted summary judgment for Mid American. Case Number: 96-167(G)L |
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| Note: | WALLER, EASLEY, AND CARLSON, JJ., CONCUR. PITTMAN, C.J., CONCURS IN PART. COBB, J., DISSENTS WITHOUT SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION. McRAE, P.J., CONCURS IN PART AND DISSENTS IN PART WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY DIAZ AND GRAVES, JJ. | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Mark Hancock and Suzanne Moore, Beneficiaries of the Life Insurance Proceeds of Mary Carlisle |
JIM WAIDE
MARTIN D. CRUMP
D. KIRK THARP
VICTOR ISRAEL FLEITAS
JOHN P. FOX |
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| Appellee: | Mid American Insurance Services, Inc. d/b/a American Health and Life Insurance Company and /or Gulf Insurance Company | WADE G. MANOR |
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| Topic: | Insurance - Acceptance of risk or hazard - Section 83-9-11 |
| Summary of the Facts: | After purchasing personal accident insurance with death benefits from Mid American Insurance Services, Inc. when she rented a car from Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Mississippi, Mary Carlisle was killed in an accident while operating the rental car in Tennessee. Mid American refused to pay any insurance benefits to Mark Hancock or Suzanne Moore, Carlisle's beneficiaries. The beneficiaries filed an action, and Mid American was added as a defendant in amended complaint. The court granted summary judgment for Mid American, and the beneficiaries appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Mid American contended that Carlisle violated the rental agreement by taking the car out of Mississippi. The beneficiaries argue that the basis of the denial was not material to the acceptance of the risk of hazard to be assumed by the insurance company, because the insurance premium would not have changed if Carlisle had initially stated she was going to travel out of state and she did not expose the insurer to any extra risk. Section 83-9-11 provides that the falsity of any statement in the application for any policy covered by sections 83-9-1 to 83-9-21 may not bar the right to recovery thereunder unless such false statement materially affected either the acceptance of the risk or the hazard assumed by the insurer. The right to recover under an insurance policy should only be denied upon bases which materially affect the acceptance of risk or hazard assumed by the insurer. Because the implied promise not to travel out of Mississippi is akin to a false statement regarding health, the case is reversed and remanded for trial. |
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