The plaintiff moves for summary judgment under rule 113. of the Rules of Civil Practice of New York, on the ground that there is no substantial defense to the action. This remedy may be availed of in an action at lаw in the United States courts, under the Conformity Act (28 USC A § 724). Hess & Bro. v. Small (D. C.)
The complaint' is the ordinary one in an action on life insurance policies. It sets *369 forth that in. 1927 the defendant issued two policies to the plaintiff’s son, Samuel Maslin, insuring his life; that the plaintiff is the beneficiary under the policies; that Samuel Maslin died in 1930 while the policies were in full force and effect; that they contained clauses rеndering them incontestable after one year from issuance except for nonpayment of premiums; and that the defendant has refused to honor the policies.
There are in substance two defenses embodied in the amended answer, by denials and separate statements. The first defense is that an imposter posing as Samuel Maslin made the application аnd took the physical examination for the policies; that the defendant, believing such person to be Samuel Maslin, issued the forms of policy sped on; and that on discovery of the facts it tendered back the premiums. The defendant therefore denies that it ever issued any policy on the life of Samuel Maslin. The second defense is that Samuel Maslin for years beforе 1927 had been suffering from tuberculosis and was confined in an institution for treatment of that disease; that he conspired with one of the defendant’s agents to get insurance on his life by fraud; that he gavе fraudulent answers on his application as to his health, occupation, and so on; and that the defendant was thus tricked by- him and its agent into issuing the forms of policy sued on. -
So far as the faсts presented in the affidavits on this motion are concerned, I am of opinion that the defendant’s affidavit sets forth sufficient to show that there are issues of fact to be tried. Its answer cannot be said to be a mere sham. The more important question on this motion is one of law, whether the matters pleaded by the defendant, if true, furnish any reason why it should not pay the policies, in view of the incontestability clause and the fact that the one year specified therein expired without contest on the part of the defendant. If the incontestability clause makes these defenses now unavailable, whether true or not, the motion for summary judgment should be granted. Wolpin v. Prudential Insurance Co.,
A great deal of law has been written on the effect of the incontestability clause. The general rule cannot be questioned that after the passage of the stipulated time the insurance cоmpany is precluded from contesting the policy on the ground of false representations by the insured, even those made fraudulently. Wright v. Mutual Benefit Association,
I think it equally clear, however, that the other defense, the allеged impersonation of Samuel Maslin by another who is said to have made the application and, more impoi’tant still, to have taken the physical examination, is not barred by the incontestability clause. In substance, the defendant’s position is that it never insured the life of the plaintiff’s son at all and never had any contract or contractual dealings with him; that the man it insured wаs another person altogether, a healthy man whom the defendant’s medical examiner saw and accepted as a risk and who chose to call himself Samuel Maslin; further, that there is nothing to show that this man is dead or that the plaintiff had any insurable interest in his life. In reality, this is not an affirmative defense at all; it may be proved under the denial that the defendant insured the life of Samuеl Maslin. If the facts pleaded are borne out by the *370 proof, thé defendant is under no liability to the plaintiff.' There cannot be the slightest doubt that the person whom an insurance company intеnds to make a contract with and intends to insure is the' person who presents himself for physical examination.
It is a,rule applicable to contracts generally that where a man, jjrеtending to be some one else, goes in per-son to another and induces him to make a contract, the resulting contract is with the person actually seen and dealt with and not with the person whose name was used. Phelps v. McQuade,
In Phelps v. McQuade, supra, one Walter Gwynne went to the plaintiffsi find represent- , ing himself to be Baldwin Gwynne, -a man of good credit,, bought- jewelry from them .on credit. He sold the jewelry to the defendant who paid value and had no notice. On learning of the deceрtion the plaintiffs brought replevin to recover the goods. In holding that they could not recover because title had passed, Judge Andrews said (page 235 of
In Gotthelf v. Shapiro, supra, one Hyman Shapiro had dealings with the plaintiffs, using the name of his brother Max, and induced them to tаke a' mortgage executed in the name of Max. Max turned out to be an infant. The mortgage wás held to be that of Hyman. “L perceive no reason why'the plaintiff cannot now foreclоse the mortgage as against the -Max J. Shapiro'who was a -.mortgagor, even though he generally bears Í the name of Hyman Shapiro. Throughout thé transaction Hyman adopted Max J. as his own givеn name. '*' * * It is the identity of the individúa! that is regarded, not the name that he may bear o'r choose to' assume. * * * The fact that there was a living , person whose name was Max- J. - Shapiro did not makе that mortgage the instrument of that person.” 136 App. Dir. at page 3, 120 N. Y. S. 210, 213.
In the Eastern Exchange Bank Case, supra, the plaintiff sued on an insurance policy indemnifying it against loss by forgery of signatures of its dеpositors. ' One Palmer 'opened a deposit account with the plaintiff, using the name of John Hogan. He then got possession of cheeks payable.to Hogan, indorsed them and deposited them in -his account. He later drew out the proceeds. The plaintiff was' obliged to make good to the real John Hogan; In holding that there was no forgery of the signature of one of .the plaintiff's depositors and that there could therefore be no recovery, Chief Judge Cordozsaid (page 343 of
So here, if the defendant can prove that a healthy man impersonated a diseased Samuel Maslin and took the medical examinatiоn under the name of Samuel Maslin, then the diseased Samuel Maslin who was the. plaintiff’s son did not become a policyholder, any more than the real John Hogan became a depоsitor in the case just cited. The defendánt’s only contract was with the -man who made the application and took the examination.
It is obvious that the interposition of these matters by the defendant is not a contest of the policies within the meaning of the incontestability clause. The insurer does not by this defense dispute the validity of the policies issued by it. It says in effect that the mаn it insured under these policies was not the plaintiff’s son, Samuel Maslin. Other defenses coming much closer to a contest of the policy have been held not barred by an incontestability. clause. New York Life Ins. Co. v. Manning,
There is therefore a substantial issue to be determined on trial, and the motion for summary judgment will be denied.