Court Refuses Requests to Depublish Decision Affirming Rescission of Health Insurance Policy
by John M. LeBlanc and Jason C. Love
On April 28, 2010, the California Supreme Court declined to review the Second District Court of Appeal’s decision in Nieto v. Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company, 181 Cal. App. 4th 60 (2010) (previously discussed here). The Supreme Court also declined to depublish the Nieto decision, despite numerous requests from consumer groups and a specific request from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.
The Supreme Court’s decision confirms the Nieto court’s holding that the underwriting standards addressed by the Second District in Hailey v. California Physicians’ Service, 158 Cal. App. 4th 452 (2007), have no application to health insurers in California. It also confirms the holding in Nieto that advising applicants in the application, and in the policy, that an insurance policy is issued in reliance on the application statements will satisfy the requirements of the California Insurance Code attachment statutes to “endorse” the application on the policy.
Finally, the Nieto decision is also being widely reviewed for its holding concerning when successive motions for summary judgment can be filed.
Further discussions on the Hailey and Nieto decisions can be found here:
