Mattie Edens Medigovich v. Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, a Corporation

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the defendant-appellee by the District Court for the District of Arizona in an action to recover a sum payable under a life insurance policy.

In 1950 appellee issued a group insurance policy to one Michaels, as Trustee for the Arizona Retail Lumber and Builders Supply Association Inc. Trust Fund. This policy was designed to give group coverage to the lumber dealers who belonged to the Association and to their employees. Cottonwood Lumber Company, which was composed of appellant, her husband and their two children, Billy —13, and Joan — 17, as partners belonged to the Association. The master policy provided that partners could be considered employees for the purposes of the policy while “actively engaged in the business of the partnership”. It provided:

On July 3, 1952, Joan Medigovich applied for and received a certificate of insurance under this policy naming her mother, the appellant, as beneficiary. This was after Joan had graduated from high school. At the time she was working in the business performing various clerical duties, averaging five or six hours a day.

On September 27, 1952, Joan entered Stanford University where she…