Court Opinion

ID: 2964110
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2015-09-21 21:20:45.493843+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:10:51.704733
License: Public Domain

USCA1 Opinion

	

          May 31, 1996
                                [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

                            UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
                                 ____________________

        No. 95-2262

                                    CARLOS DECLET,

                                Plaintiff, Appellant,

                                          v.

                                 CONFEDERATION LIFE,

                                 Defendant, Appellee.

                                 ____________________

                     APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                           FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

                 [Hon. Raymond L. Acosta, Senior U.S. District Judge]
                                          __________________________

                                 ____________________

                                        Before

                                Torruella, Chief Judge,
                                           ___________
                          Boudin and Lynch, Circuit Judges.
                                            ______________

                                 ____________________

            Arturo  Aponte  Pares   and  Peter  John  Porrata  on  brief   for
            _____________________        ____________________
        appellant.
            Manuel Moreda-Toledo and McConnell Valdes on brief for appellee.
            ____________________     ________________

                                 ____________________

                                 ____________________

                 Per  Curiam.   Having carefully  reviewed the  record in
                 ___________

            this case, including the briefs of the parties, we affirm the

            grant of summary judgment to defendant/appellee Confederation

            Life Insurance Company of Canada.

                 According  to  the undisputed  statement  of facts,  the

            decedent made  material misstatements as to  the condition of

            her health  in her August 1992  application for reinstatement

            of her life insurance  policy.  By  the terms of the  policy,

            such material  misstatements made the policy  voidable at the

            option  of Confederation during  the two  year contestability

            period,  which option  Confederation  exercised  in  February

            1993.   Moreover,  according to  the  clear language  of  the

            application, no  statement relative  to the insured's  health

            could be deemed communicated  to Confederation unless set out

            in   the  evidence   of  insurability   submitted  with   the

            application  itself.   Consequently,  even  if  appellant did

            orally communicate the state of decedent's health to an agent

            of  Confederation in  1991, Confederation  would have  had no

            duty to investigate, absent  some evidence submitted with the

            application.     Since  no   such  evidence  was   submitted,

            Confederation was  within its  legal right in  rescinding the

            policy.1
                   1

                 Affirmed.  See 1st Cir. Loc. R. 27.1.
                 ________   ___

                                
            ____________________

               1Appellant's  claim that  Confederation  was reluctant  to
               1
            provide  him with  all  relevant discovery  material was  not
            raised below and thus will not be heard on appeal.

                                         -2-