A 3-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling in favor of an insurer that says it rescinded a disability insurance policy because the insured's application was deceptive.
Dr. Anita Dormer, the plaintiff in the case, Dormer vs. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (10-0227-cv), has asserted that the rescission violated a New York State law that prohibits insurers from canceling a policy after 2 years except in cases in which a policy owner makes
material misrepresentations on the insurance application.
After a 2-day bench trial, a judge in the U.S. District Court in New York dismissed the complaint, holding that the plaintiff had not fully disclosed her history of chronic fatigue syndrome, Bell's palsy and back pain when applying for the disability insurance.
