Daniel Clark v. John Hancock Mutual Life

Plaintiff, Daniel Clark, a self-employed carpenter and president of his own construction company, purchased from defendant, John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, a total disability insurance policy. A few months after issuance of the policy, plaintiff suffered severe injuries when his right hand became entangled in an operating table saw. Defendant denied benefits on the ground that plaintiff had misrepresented his medical history in applying for the policy. Plaintiff sued, but the trial court granted summary Disposition in favor of defendant under MCR 2.116(C)(10). Plaintiff appeals as of right, raising three issues, none of which merits reversal. First, was a factual issue raised as to whether plaintiff had made any false representation on the insurance application? Plaintiff's completed application did not inform defendant that plaintiff had experienced epilepsy during his childhood. 1 The pertinent part of the application was completed during plaintiff's visit with a registered nurse working for defendant. Following a brief physical examination, the nurse verbally asked plaintiff the questions on the application questionnaire and recorded his answers. Specifically, per plaintiff's deposition testimony, the nurse read through the entire questionnaire aloud and, then, went through it again and asked the questions individually. The relevant questions dealing with plaintiff's medical history were as follows: