A-24-0408, Cynthia Muhlbauer (Appellant) v. Farmers New World Life Insurance Company and Doug Blasing d/b/a Doug Blasing Ins. Agency (Appellees)
Douglas County, District Court, Judge James M. Masteller
Attorneys for Appellant: Thomas J. Culhane and Raymond E. Walden (Erickson & Sederstrom, PC)
Attorneys for Appellee Farmers: Margaret M. Drugan and A. Victor Rawl, Jr. (Gordon & Rees, LLP)
Attorneys for Appellee Blasing: Michael S. Degan and Rachel A. Geelan (Kutak Rock, LLP)
Civil Action: Breach of Contract, Misrepresentation
Action Taken by Trial Court: Muhlbauer was the sole beneficiary of her husband’s life insurance policy and sought payment of the policy following his death. Farmers denied her claim based on misrepresentations in the life insurance application regarding the decedent’s medical history. As a result, Muhlbauer filed an action against the insurance company and the insurance agent who electronically completed and submitted the application. Muhlbauer claimed the insurance agent was told about her husband’s medical history, but that the agent misrepresented that history on the application. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of both Farmers and the agent.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Muhlbauer assigns that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Farmers and the agent because there were genuine issues of material fact related to who supplied the erroneous medical history on the decedent’s life insurance application.