POND v NORTH AMERICAN LIFE CASUA
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
No. 84-329 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MON'TANA 1985 ELIZABETH L. POND, Plaintiff and Petitioner, NORTH AMERICAN LIFE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, a corporation, Defendant and Respondent. ORIGINAL PROCEEDING : COUNSEL OF RECORD: For Petitioner: Cure, Borer & Davis; Gregory J. Hatley argued, Great Falls, Montana For Respondent : Jardine, Stephenson, Blewett & Weaver; Jack L. Lewis argued, Great Falls, Montana Submitted: March 14, 1985 Decided: April 11, 1985 Clerk Mr. Justice Will-iam E. Hunt, Sr., del ivered the Opinion of t-heCourt. This is a declaratory judgment action upon certification by the United States District Court, District of Montana, Great Falls Division, Honorable Paul G. Ratfield, that the question upon which adjudication is sought is controlling in federal litigation. a dispute between This case originated in federal court as an insurer and the beneficiary of an insured concerning whether the insured died in such a manner as to require coverage. We find that coverage is required. The respondent, North American Life Casualty and Company, is the insurer in a group pol-icy made available to members of the National Rifle Association. The policy in issue here provided coverage for injuries "resulting directly and independently of all other causes" and excluded coverage for losses "caused by or resulting from disease of any kind." The petitioner, Elizabeth L. Pond, is the designated beneficiary of the deceased insured, Frank Pond. While wallcing on September, 1981, the a sidewalk in Logan, Utah, insured, Frank Pond, suddenly consciousness and fell. in lost The back of his head struclc the concrete sidewalk and he died as a result. An a-utopsy report listed his loss of consciousness as "a seizure/syncope of uncertain etiology." Cause ncraniocerebral injuries." of death was Pond had Frank condition involving a propensity for listed a as physical consciousness. This was caused by several years of excessive indulgence in alcohol. Evidence at trial showed that the insured's physical condition that caused his loss of consciousness would not have, in itself, caused this death. The petitioner argues that coverage is required in this instance because an accident within policy coverage was the prime cause of death. It is argued that this case is within the ruling in Life Insurance Company of North America v . Evans (19811), 195 Mont. 242, 247, 637 P.2d 806, 808-809, in which this Court held, under a similar policy, recovery may be had even though a disease appears to have actually contributed to the cause of death as long as the accident sets in motion the chain of events leading to death, or if it is the prime or moving cause. Petitioner interprets this ruling as requiring coverage if an accident is the prime cause of death. The respondent argues that no coverage can exist here hecause a pre-existing physical condition, the years of excessj-ve indulgence in alcohol, caused the unconsciousness which set in motion the events that led to death. argues that Evans, 637 P.2d triggering event--if the Respondent at 808-809, focuses on the triggering event is accidental coverage is required. Here, the insured was a policy holder of an insurance policy that would cover accidental injury including death. We find that the injury suffered by Frank Pond was an accidental injury within that meaning in the policy. The pre-existinq condition that Frank Pond had--the propensity for losinq consciousness--would not in itself have caused death. Death was caused by the insured's head hitting the concrete sidewalk. within policy. the meaning This accidental death was an injury of the policy and is covered by the W hold t h a t coverage i s r e q u i e W e Concur: , ' &T< Chief n T = b q , , ' X C . Justice /'
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
