Verna Roberts v. The Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York

Verna Roberts, the named beneficiary of a policy of flight insurance purchased by Gladys Pierce from The Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York (Fidelity), brought this Oregon diversity action against Fidelity to recover the fifteen thousand dollar face value of the policy. On facts most of which were agreed to in the pretrial order, the district court entered judgment for Fidelity. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm.

In August, 1968, Gladys Pierce, an unmarried resident of Portland, Oregon, forty-six years of age, was engaged in the real estate business. She had made a number of trips to Los Angeles and had there become acquainted with B. James Barton, who was employed at the Royal Inn, in Santa Monica, California. Miss. Pierce had, on one or more of these trips, discussed with Barton his interest in real property located along the Columbia River.

In August, 1968, Miss Pierce arranged to go to Santa Monica to confer with Barton and his associates concerning Columbia River real estate. A second purpose in making this trip was to take her two nephews to Disneyland. Before leaving Portland, Miss Pierce told Mrs. Lovelady, the mother of the two boys, that she intended to stay at the…