DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
193144P.pdf 04/05/2021 Amber Boyer v. Schneider Electric Holdings
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 19-3144
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Joplin
[PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Insurance. Plaintiff sought accidental death benefits after
the insured's decedent died in a single-car accident; the insurer denied
accidental death benefits because the decedent was committing a crime -
speeding and passing in a no-passing zone - at the time of the fatal
crash. The district court concluded the insurer's interpretation of the
"crime" exception in the plan was unreasonable and granted judgment for
the the plaintiff. Held: the administrator's decision was supported by
substantial evidence regarding the circumstances of the accident and the
insurer's interpretation of the crime exclusion was reasonable as the
conduct constituted a crime under Missouri law because the conduct
constituted misdemeanors' reversed and remanded with directions to enter
judgment for the defendants.