Dolores v. Roberts v. Oren W. Hollandsworth, Grace Hollandsworth, and Idapine Mills, Inc., an Oregon Corporation

Roberts appeals from a summary judgment granted against her on the motions of the appellees. The summary judgment was grounded on the district court’s belief that appellant’s amended complaint did not state a claim on which relief could be granted and that the record disclosed no genuine issue of material fact.

The district court and counsel proceeded on the theory that the amended complaint alleged three claims only: (1) that appellees conspired to defraud the appellant of the value of an undivided one-half interest in certain timber; (2) that appellees in appropriating appellant’s interest in timber were guilty of acts sounding in fraud; and (3) that appellees converted appellant’s interest in the timber to their own use. The district court held: (1) that there was no credible evidence supporting appellant’s conspiracy theory; (2) that the record was devoid of proof of the nine traditional elements of fraud under Idaho law; and (3) that an interest in timber constituted an interest in real property and that Idaho law precluded an action for conversion of real property.

BACKGROUND

The appellant and the appellee Grace Hollandsworth were the joint owners of certain real property…