Acquista v. New York Life Insurance

Dr. Acquista became seriously ill. His physicians determined that he could develop leukemia. It became critical for him to avoid radiation exposure. As a result, Acquista, who was a pulmonologist, could no longer practice the chest specialty that involved radiation.

With his earning capacity taking a nosedive, Acquista filed a claim for disability benefits with the New York Life Insurance Company ("Life").

Life policies under which Acquista was insured required his "total disability" for collection of benefits.

After a massive amount of red tape, Life denied Acquista's disability claim. Life retorted that Acquista wasn't completely disabled because he could, for example, still teach.

Acquista sued Life for contract breach, bad-faith conduct, & miscellaneous tort claims.

Life won in the New York trial court ("Supreme Court of New York").