Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada v. Wells Fargo Bank

208 A.3d 839 (2019)

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

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada v. Wells Fargo Bank

New Jersey Supreme Court
208 A.3d 839 (2019)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD

Facts

In her 80s, retired middle-school teacher Nancy Bergman applied for a $5 million life-insurance policy with Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Sun Life) (plaintiff). The inspection report said Nancy earned over $600,000 a year, with a net worth of $9.235 million. In reality, she made $3,000 a month in pension and social security income, with an estate under $250,000. The policy listed a trust as sole owner and beneficiary, with Nancy as grantor and grandson Nachman Bergman as trustee. In accordance with New Jersey law, the policy contained an incontestability clause preventing Sun Life from challenging its validity more than two years after issuance for any reason except premium nonpayment. The original trust agreement said any life-insurance proceeds would go only to Nachman, but about five weeks after the policy issued, Nachman resigned as trustee and appointed four investors who did not know Nancy as successor trustees. The investors deposited money into the trust to pay premiums, and the trust agreement was amended so they would receive most of the life-insurance benefits or could sell the policy to outsiders. Over two years later, the trust sold the policy, and Wells Fargo Bank (defendant) acquired it. When Nancy died at 89, Wells Fargo attempted to collect the death benefit. Sun Life investigated, discovered the discrepancies in Nancy’s application, and filed a lawsuit to declare the policy void at the outset as part of a stranger-owned life-insurance (STOLI) scheme. On appeal, the federal circuit court certified the question for the New Jersey Supreme Court to answer.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Rabner, C.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 814,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  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.

Here's why 814,000 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 814,000 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