Flood v. Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Co.

394 So. 2d 1311 (1981)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Flood v. Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Co.

Louisiana Court of Appeal
394 So. 2d 1311 (1981)

JW

Facts

Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company (Fidelity) (defendant) refused to pay the proceeds of a life-insurance policy to the estate of Richard Flood (plaintiff). The life-insurance policy had been purchased via an application purportedly signed by Richard Flood. Later that year, Fidelity had received a form, also purportedly signed by Mr. Flood, changing the ownership of the policy to his wife, Ellen Flood. The following year, Mrs. Flood murdered Mr. Flood and was subsequently convicted. When Mrs. Flood requested payment based on the insurance policy, Fidelity denied the request due to the murder charges and returned all premiums to Mrs. Flood. Mr. Flood’s estate demanded payment for either the estate itself or the Floods’ minor child. Fidelity denied the claim, arguing that Mrs. Flood had, through forgery, fraudulently obtained the policy. Mr. Flood’s estate filed suit against Fidelity. At trial, Fidelity’s agent testified to witnessing Mr. Flood’s signature on the paperwork because Mrs. Flood had said it was his signature, although the agent had not in fact seen Mr. Flood sign the paperwork. Fidelity also called an expert witness who testified that the handwriting on the insurance application and change-of-ownership form did not match Mr. Flood’s handwriting. Further, Fidelity introduced the Supreme Court of Louisiana’s ruling in the murder case against Mrs. Flood, which noted that Mrs. Flood had inquired with an insurance agency as to whether she could purchase a $100,000 policy on her husband without his knowledge, and learned she could not. Nevertheless, the trial court ruled in favor of Mr. Flood’s estate, finding a lack of direct proof that Mr. Flood had not known about the Fidelity policy or that Mrs. Flood had intended to murder her husband for the insurance money when she obtained the policy. Fidelity appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lear, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 802,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 802,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 802,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership