Court Opinion

ID: 9830742
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 20:25:50.624544+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:43:26.189069
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
In its motion for rehearing the appellant calls attention to the fact that the insured made a false answer to a question not referred to in the original opiMon. That question was as follows: “Have you had any illness, constitutional disease, or injury during the past five years requiring the services of a physician or surgeon?” To this question the insured answered, “No.” It is claimed that the undisputed evidence shows that this answer was false. It is insisted that article 4959 of the Revised Civil Statutes of 1911, which provides that no recovery upon any life, accident, or health insurance policy shall be defeated because of any misrepresentation in the application which is of an immaterial fact and which does not affect the risk assumed, does not apply. That may be true; but article 4834, which refers to fraternal beneficiary associations, does apply and should be considered in determining-what disposition should be made of this assignment. That provision is as follows: “All benefit certificates shall from the date of their issuance be noncontestable on account of any statement or representation made by said applicant for membership, either in his-application or otherwise, or his medical examination, unless such representation shall be material to the risk assumed; and the burden of proof shall be upon the defendant to affirmatively establish such defense.” The above is a part of the act of 1909, which was in effect at the time this policy was written.
We cannot say as a matter of law that the *457misrepresentation referred to was material to the risk assumed. The motion for rehearing is therefore .overruled.