Opinion ID: 1670044
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Patterson's Arguments on Appeal

Text: On appeal, Patterson argues: 1) That misrepresentation pursuant to § 27-14-7 is an affirmative defense that must be pleaded pursuant to Rule 8(c), Ala. R. Civ. P. Therefore, Patterson says, the trial court erred in allowing Liberty National to offer evidence in support of that defense, in denying her motion for a summary judgment and her later motion for a JML, in charging the jury on misrepresentation, and in allowing Liberty National to argue the issue; 2) That for misrepresentation in an insurance application to constitute a valid defense to a claim based on a policy issued pursuant to that application, the application must contain the required language to trigger the application of § 27-14-7(a)(3). (Patterson's brief at 9). Therefore, according to Patterson, the trial court erred in allowing Liberty National to offer evidence in support of a defense based upon § 27-14-7 and in denying her motion for a summary judgment; 3) That Liberty National's agent was aware of Bruce's disability and his knowledge was imputed to Liberty National, and, says Patterson, any alleged misrepresentation on the insurance application was therefore not a valid defense. Consequently, Patterson says, the trial court erred in allowing Liberty National to offer evidence in support of that defense and in denying her motion for summary judgment; 4) That the misrepresentation allegedly relied upon by Liberty National as a defense was in response to an ambiguous question. Therefore, according to Patterson, the trial court erred by denying her motion for a summary judgment and by refusing to charge the jury that the question on the insurance application was ambiguous and that its import was for the jury to decide; 5) That Liberty National violated a continuing duty of good faith in that it refused to pay benefits after it learned that its agent had knowledge of Bruce's disability. Therefore, Patterson contends, the trial court erred in refusing to allow new evidence of bad faith on Liberty National's part and by refusing a jury charge on the existence of a continuing duty of good faith; [2] 6) That the court erred in failing to charge the jury to the effect that an insurer cannot use evidence obtained after it has denied benefits to justify that denial; and 7) That the court erred in failing to charge the jury to the effect that an insurer has a duty to gather all facts regarding a claim before deciding whether to grant or to deny the claim, i.e., that an insurer must conduct an adequate investigation of facts relevant to a denial of a claim. For the reasons set forth below we do not reach all of these issues.