Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
M

MacKenzie v. Prudential Insurance Company of America

411 F.2d 781 (1969)

From our private database of 46,400+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

MacKenzie v. Prudential Insurance Company of America

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
411 F.2d 781 (1969)

  • Written by Genan Zilkha, JD

Facts

Marcella MacKenzie (plaintiff) sought to collect as a beneficiary under a life insurance policy issued to her husband, Jerome MacKenzie, by Prudential Insurance Company of America (Prudential) (defendant). Prudential refused to pay Marcella the proceeds of the policy. In order for the insurance policy to take effect, Jerome was required to truthfully answer if he had suffered or ever been treated for heart problems, including high blood pressure. At the time Jerome applied for the policy, he had never suffered from any heart problems. After the application was complete, but before it was delivered, Jerome was treated for high blood pressure. Jerome did not disclose this high blood pressure to his Prudential agent when the policy was delivered. According to Prudential, if Jerome had told the truth about his heart problems when the policy was delivered, Prudential would have either declined to issue the policy or increased the insurance premium. Prudential asserted that Jerome’s omission of this information constituted a material misrepresentation that voided the policy. Marcella brought an action against Prudential in Kentucky state court. The action was removed to federal district court due to diversity of citizenship. The district court granted summary judgment to Prudential. MacKenzie appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Combs, 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 829,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools 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 829,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 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 829,000 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
  • 46,400 briefs - keyed to 994 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

Casebooks

Insurance Law

Key Terms