An insurance company is suing the widow of a client, claiming the company was misled about alleged medical conditions of her deceased husband.
The Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America filed a complaint June 8 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Martha Leggett Allen, alleging misrepresentation.
The complaint states that on July 14, 2006, the defendant's husband, Johnny Ray Allen, now deceased, opened an insurance claim, failing to include imperative information about health conditions. The insurance was issued in September 2006, lapsed for nonpayment in September 2012, then reissued in November 2012.
The claim purports that Johnny Ray Allen misled the company by failing to truthfully answer the questions concerning his health conditions and failing to advise Guardian of his complications, which later resulted in his death. The complications included hepatitis C, repeated treatments for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and drug use. Allen died on Aug. 21, 2014, of acute heroin intoxication, the complaint states.
As a result of the withholding of information, Guardian claims it was unjustly expected to provide the defendant with insurance coverage of $1 million, negatively affecting the company.
Guardian Life Insurance Co. is requesting rescission and declaratory judgment against the defendant.
The plaintiff is represented by Maura Z. Pelleteri of New Orleans-based Krebs, Farley, and Pelleteri.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:15-cv-01962