Opinion ID: 3010765
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Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Strict Construction Model -- Runyon I & II

Text: The first major New Jersey opinions treating issues similar to those before us were the related cases of Runyon v. Monarch Accident Ins. Co., 158 A. 530 (N.J. 1932) (Runyon I) and Runyon II, supra. Both cases dealt with the same accident, in which the insured slipped on an icy pavement, broke his hip, and died about five weeks later. The evidence showed that the insured had suffered for 11 eleven years prior to the accident from a condition then known as paralysis agitans (known more commonly now as Parkinson's Disease), and the death certificate listed the cause of death as fractured left hip from slipping on ice; contributory paralysis agitans (secondary) duration 11 years. Runyon I, 158 A. at 532. The insured's physician testified at trial that his use of the word contributory meant that if the insured had been in normal health, he would have stood a much better chance to recover from the shock of the hip fracture. See id. The ADB policy in Runyon I provided that the defendant was liable only if death resulted exclusively from bodily injuries caused solely by external, violent and accidental means. Id. at 531. The court held thatunder such a policy, if the insured, at the time of the accidental injury, was also suffering from a disease, and the disease aggravated the effects of the accident, and actively contributed to the death occasioned thereby, there can be no recovery upon the policy. Id. On this basis, the court upheld the verdict for the defendant. Runyon II involved the same facts, though construed under a different insurance policy. The relevant policy language in that case provided for benefits so long as death or bodily injury was caused: directly and independently of all other causes by external, violent, and accidental means, which bodily injuries, or their effects, shall not be caused wholly or in part, directly or indirectly, by any bodily or mental disease, defect or infirmity. Runyon II, 160 A. at 403. The trial court denied the defendant's motion for a nonsuit, and the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff. The New Jersey high court reversed.6 Since it was uncontroverted that the insured's pre-existing condition had, to some extent, caused the death of the insured, the court held that the case fell squarely within the exempting condition of the policy -- i.e. that the death was not caused directly and independently of all causes other than the accident. See id. _________________________________________________________________ 6. The court was then known as the Court of Errors and Appeals. 12