Fleet Messenger Service, Inc. v. Life Insurance Co. of North America

LEYET, District Judge.

In this action by plaintiff-beneficiary, Fleet Messenger Service, Inc., to recover the proceeds of a life insurance policy issued by defendant-insurer, an attorney representing the widow and personal representatives of the deceased-insured, none of whom are parties to this action, seeks to invoke the physician-patient privilege to exclude certain testimony by physicians of the deceased-insured.

The problem raised is whether a person, not a party to the action, may object to testimony on the ground of the physician-patient privilege.

Section 352 of the New York Civil…