An insurance agent deliberately misled the family of murdered businessman Howard Baron by concealing information which would have resulted in a claim being made on his policy, a judge ruled yesterday.
But the dead man's son, Bruce, 48, failed in his battle for a $3 million payout because the insurance firm had not been told the truth about his father's medical history.
Insurance agent Illet 'Fred' Fredericks had secured the policy in 1970 by sending the company a false declaration that Baron had not had any surgical treatment in the previous five years.
The judge ruled in the Court of First Instance that Mr Fredericks knew the businessman had a serious operation in 1967. If the insurance firm had been told this, it would not have granted the policy.
He said there should be no payout but ordered Mr Fredericks and his company, I. H. Fredericks and Associates Ltd, to pay the entire costs of the trial, estimated to run into several million dollars.
He ruled that Mr Fredericks was in breach of his duty of care to Baron's son by failing to pass on important information.
