Karras v. Nationwide Life Insurance

The summary judgment for appellee Nationwide should be reversed because the trial court followed the wrong standard in adjudicating the issues of law raised by appellee’s motion for summary judgment. The trial court followed the “material misrepresentation” standard of the insurance contract. Instead, it should have applied, and was obligated to apply, the standard in R.C. 3911.06: clear proof of willful falsehood and fraud. The source of the trial court’s error is its determination that the “temporary insurance” contract between Karras and Nationwide is not a “policy” of insurance covered by…