Title: Hardy v. American Southern Life Insurance Co.
Citation: 211 So. 2d 559
Docket Number: 36765
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: June 26, 1968

211 So. 2d 559 (1968)
Estelle HARDY, Petitioner,
v.
AMERICAN SOUTHERN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Respondent.
No. 36765.

Supreme Court of Florida.
May 15, 1968.
As Revised on Denial of Rehearing June 26, 1968.
James G. Mahorner, of White, Phipps, Linn, Furnell &amp; Mahorner, Clearwater, and James T. Carlisle, Vero Beach, for petitioner.
Michael O'Haire, of Smith, Heath, Smith &amp; O'Haire, Vero Beach, for respondent.
ERVIN, Justice.
Mrs. Estelle Hardy petitioned us for writ of certiorari to review the decision of the District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, in the case of American Southern Life Insurance Company v. Hardy, 202 So. 2d 98.
*560 It appears from the opinion of the District Court that Mrs. Hardy and her husband, Joseph B. Hardy, on March 1, 1962 jointly purchased a Buick automobile from Faircloth Buick Company of Tampa, Florida, under an installment contract. The purchase was made through the dealer's car salesman, Ramon Fanguiaire. At the time of the purchase, Mrs. Hardy's husband was a bedridden patient in a veterans' hospital suffering from terminal cancer. In connection with the purchase Mrs. Hardy authorized application for credit life insurance to insure payment of the balance due on installments under the purchase contract for the car. Pursuant to the application, Respondent American Southern Life Insurance Company issued its certificate of life insurance to Mrs. Hardy, the insured being her husband and the beneficiaries General Motors Acceptance Corporation and the estate of the husband. The policy provided coverage from March 1, 1962 through the next three years. The premium paid was $112.43. This condition was contained in the policy:
"THIS CERTIFICATE IS NULL AND VOID UNLESS THE INSURED IS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 65 AND IN GOOD HEALTH ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF."
The husband died of his affliction on May 8, 1962. It appears that in ensuing litigation to recover on the policy the Circuit Court directed a verdict in favor of Mrs. Hardy. On appeal from the judgment entered on the verdict, the District Court reversed, holding the "sound health" provision was a condition precedent to the policy becoming effective in the absence of waiver or estoppel. The District Court, in reaching its conclusion to reverse, said:
We agree with the dissenting opinion of Judge Cross in the District Court appeal. The majority opinion fails to take into consideration that Ramon Fanguiaire, the salesman, and his principal, the dealer, knew of Mr. Hardy's bedridden condition. Nevertheless, they accepted the application from Mrs. Hardy for the credit life insurance co-incident with the transaction for the purchase of the Buick despite their knowledge of Mr. Hardy's bad health condition. On its part, the insurance company also accepted the application, received payment of the premium and issued the policy. The insurance issued was of that genre of coverage which insures against risks involved in commercial transactions for installment purchases of automobiles where no physical examination of the insured is required.
Under the foregoing circumstances, it is obvious the decision of the District Court conflicts with our prior decision cited by Petitioner which holds that relevant knowledge of an insurer's agent of material facts concerning the health of the prospective insured is imputable to the insurer, viz., Johnson v. Life Insurance Company of Georgia (Fla. 1951), 52 So. 2d 813. The District Court, although noting that Mrs. Hardy brought to the attention of the salesman Fanguiaire her husband's (the insured's) condition of unsound health and discussed the matter with him, did not apply to these facts the principle expressed in the cited case. In Johnson v. Life Insurance Company of Georgia, supra, we said in a factual situation very similar to the one in the instant case:
In addition to the foregoing quotation of authority, we note with approval the reasoning and authorities in the dissent of Judge Cross.
The decision of the District Court is quashed with direction that the judgment of the Circuit Court be reinstated except the attorneys' fees fixed by the Circuit Court which must be disallowed because the governing statutes expressly preclude attorneys' fees on judgments recovering on claims under credit life insurance. See F.S. Sections 627.01001(5) and 627.0127, F.S.A.
CALDWELL, C.J., and THOMAS, THORNAL and ADAMS, JJ., concur.