A murdered man's lack of knowledge and consent to an insurance policy on his life is a sufficient basis for a wrongful death suit against the insurer by his estate alleging negligent issuance of a life insurance policy, the Illinois Supreme Court held Jan. 23 (Khalid J. Bajwa v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., No. 95051, Ill. Sup.; 2004 Ill. LEXIS 5).
The court also found that on remand, Khalid J. Bajwa, who is suing as administrator of the estate of Muhammad Cheema, may amend the pleadings "to properly plead a cause of action based on a lack of an insurable interest."
Bajwa's suit, filed under Illinois' Wrongful Death Act, alleges that the negligent issuance of a life insurance policy by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. "proximately caused
the murder of Muhammad Cheema (decedent or A. Cheema) by the beneficiary of the
policy."
The Cook County Circuit Court granted Met Life's motion to dismiss, but the First District Appellate Court reversed and remanded for further proceedings. According to the Supreme Court, "We granted Met Life's petition for leave to appeal . . . to consider an issue of first impression in Illinois: whether a cause of action for negligent issuance of a life insurance policy should be recognized, where there are a number of anomalies in the application process and plaintiff alleges that the insurer should have known that the supposed insured did not know of the policy and did not give his consent to it, thereby proximately causing the death of the insured."
In December 1992, according to the estate, Muhammad U. Cheema (U. Cheema) applied for the policy through Met Life account representative Imtiaz Sheik, telling Sheik he was the decedent's son, designating himself as the beneficiary of the policy and arranging for the premiums to be paid by direct withdrawal from his bank account. However, U. Cheema had the decedent, A. Cheema, listed as the owner of the policy.
A. Cheema then arranged with Sheik to take the policy to his "father" for his signature, contrary to Met Life procedure. The court noted a number of discrepancies in the application. Further, the court noted that before the policy was issued, a Met Life underwriter "noticed a number of additional irregularities in the application that required further Investigation." The policy was issued anyway; after it was issued, Met Life noted five calls it identified as "strange" from someone identifying himself as Muhammad Cheema asking about the death benefits.
A. Cheema was stabbed to death in his apartment nine days after the last of the "strange" calls to Met Life. Bajwa claims that U. Cheema murdered A. Cheema to collect the insurance.
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