Probate Litigation: On Appeal

As reported in The Daily Business Review, Allstate Life Insurance Co. filed a suit to declare a life insurance policy void because they believed an imposter took the initial medical exam. The policy had been active for more than two years, which, according to Florida law, made it indisputable.  A summary judgment was issued stating that Allstate could not challenge the policy after the two year statutory time limit, and when Allstate appealed, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this ruling.

The suit was filed after beneficiaries Steve Miller and Nicholas Demetro applied to collect the $500,000 in life insurance benefits after the death of John Miller.  John Miller died in April of 2003, three years after buying the Allstate policy, of an infection following back surgery.

The beneficiaries filed a countersuit and disputed Allstate’s claim that an imposter took the initial medical exam, according to the appellees attorney Bruce Katzen.

 U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages granted a summary judgment to Steve Miller and Demetro, ruling that Allstate’s claim was barred because Florida law requires all policy challenges to occur within the first two years.