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Wells Fargo Bank N.A. v. The U.S. Life Ins. Co. in the City of N.Y.

Insurer May Assert Defense of Life Policy's Reformation Based on Unilateral Mistake

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OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. brings this action against Defendant the United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York to recover a $9.8 million death benefit under an insurance policy issued to the late Catherine Cohen. After Defendant answered the operative complaint, it moved to amend its answer to add new affirmative defenses for reformation of the policy on the basis of mutual mistake and unilateral mistake and to add factual allegations in support of those defenses. Plaintiff partially opposes that motion on the grounds that adding an affirmative defense of reformation based on unilateral mistake would be futile, since Defendant has failed to adequately allege fraudulent concealment by Cohen to support that defense. Because the Court determines that Defendant has adequately alleged an affirmative defense of reformation on the basis of unilateral mistake, and therefore an amendment of its answer to add that defense would not be futile, it grants the motion to amend in its entirety. I. Background A. Facts1 Plaintiff is the Securities Intermediary for a life insurance policy purchased from Defendant in 2005 by Cohen with a death benefit amount of $9,800,000. Am. Compl.

2-3. Cohen died in October 2021, id. 4, prior to the maturity date for the policy, which was November 8, 2021, id. 22. However, Cohen had recorded her birthdate on her insurance application as May 10, 1921, rather than January 29, 1920 which Defendant claims is Cohen’s true date of birth. Id. 39; Aff. Defenses

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