Jury To Decide Man’s Claim Of Good Health

A jury will decide whether a man who knew he was infected with the AIDS virus answered honestly when he told an insurance company that he believed he was in good health.

Berkshire Life Insurance Co. wants to void Richard Owens’ coverage on the grounds he misled the insurer.

The insurance company had asked the former fashion designer in 1992, when he applied for coverage, whether he could “represent that I … am in good health to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

Owens, who had tested positive for the AIDS virus a year earlier, answered yes.

Owens, 54, eventually developed AIDS and applied for disability benefits in 1993.