Atkin F. Seltzer and Helen Seltzer, His Wife v. William W. Chesley, Jr., as Special Administrator of the Estate of Linda Joyce Berryhill, Deceased

This appeal is from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona in favor of defendantsappellees in a diversity action brought by plaintiffs-appellants to recover for personal injuries suffered in an automobile accident in 1969. We affirm.

THE CASE

Plaintiffs-appellants instituted this action in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona in and for the County of Maricopa to recover damages for personal injuries resulting from collision of their automobile with one driven by Linda Joyce Berryhill and owned by Adrian Berryhill and Gladys Berryhill. The action was removed by defendants to the District Court for the District of Arizona and tried before a jury. At the close of plaintiffs’ case, motion was made for a directed verdict in favor of Adrian Berryhill and Gladys Berryhill on the ground that no liability had been established under the family purpose doctrine. The trial judge reserved ruling on the motion until both sides had rested, at which time the motion was granted, leaving for the jury the case against defendant Linda Joyce Berryhill.

Pertinent portions of the instructions to the jury are set forth below:

Appellants’ counsel…