Jacobs v. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance

OPINION OF THE COURT

Balkin, J.

The plaintiff, Brad J. Jacobs, was a plastic surgeon. In June 2007 his medical license was suspended by New York State's Commissioner of Health on the ground that his continued practice “constituted an imminent danger to the health of the people of this state.” A few months later, the plaintiff filed claims under his disability insurance policies. He asserted that even before the State suspended his license, mental illness and drug addiction had rendered him unable to perform his duties “with any degree of safety or competence.” The plaintiff's insurer, the…