Edith P. Goodwin v. Hartford Life Insurance Company

OPINION OF THE COURT

This is a diversity action, in which the plaintiff-appellee has sued the appellant-insurance company to recover as the beneficiary of her deceased husband who was allegedly covered by a group life insurance policy issued to the Ever-Soft Company of Pennsylvania as policyholder. Pennsylvania law is applicable.

The district court found that the deceased husband, though enrolled under the policy, was never eligible for coverage. This conclusion was based on the fact that eligibility under the policy was limited to “active full-time employees” of the Ever-Soft Company and this,…