Appeals Court Sides With Equitable in NY Universal Life Case
January 28, 2025 by Allison Bell
The highest court in New York state has ruled in favor of the life insurer in a case involving a universal life policy’s cost-of-insurance charges.
All seven judges at the New York Court of Appeals agreed to uphold a lower-court ruling dismissing the plaintiff’s claims for damages against Equitable Life.
The court ruled that Richard Hobish, the executor of the estate of his late mother, Toby Hobish, cannot collect compensatory, consequential, actual or restitutional damages from Equitable because the trust that owned the policy gave up the policy in exchange for a large surrender payment.