Friends Life Ltd v Miley
Decision date: 28 February 2019
Neutral citation: [2019] EWCA Civ 261
Court: Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Insurance classification confidence: high
Overall AI summary confidence: medium
Short overview
A short description of the case, material issue, and outcome where supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this overview: medium
This appeal concerned whether Friends Life Ltd could stop and recover payments under a group income protection policy on the basis that Mr Miley had fabricated or exaggerated chronic fatigue symptoms. The trial judge found Mr Miley entitled to benefits and rejected allegations of deliberate fabrication; Henderson LJ granted limited permission to appeal only on narrow non‑dishonesty points. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, leaving the trial judge's findings and award in place.
Ratio decidendi
The legal reasoning necessary to the outcome, where it can safely be identified from the judgment.
AI confidence in this ratio summary: high
No clear binding ratio can safely be identified from the judgment.
Obiter dicta
Judicial observations that were not necessary to the outcome, where they can safely be identified.
AI confidence in this obiter summary: medium
The judgment records criticism that allegations of fraud or non‑disclosure were not distinctly pleaded and that surprise reliance on such material at trial was inconsistent with the "cards on the table" approach encouraged by the Civil Procedure Rules.
Warning
The automated summary was prepared from selected parts of a longer judgment; consult the original decision for the complete reasoning. The middle of the judgment was omitted from the judgment, which may omit factual detail, fuller reasoning and any additional legal holdings.