Ramsey v. Mutual of Omaha, s. 80-1845

• Decision Date: 15 July 1981
• Docket Number: Nos. 80-1845,80-1943,s. 80-1845
• Citation: Ramsey v. Mutual of Omaha, 652 F.2d 764 (8th Cir. 1981)
• Parties: Barbara Duncan RAMSEY, individually and as next friend of Lisa Lynn Duncan and Jean Marilyn Duncan, individually and as next friend of Matthew Duncan, Appellees, v. MUTUAL OF OMAHA, Appellant. Provident Life Insurance Company; Beneficial Standard Life Insurance Company; The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. Barbara Duncan RAMSEY, individually and as next friend of Lisa Lynn Duncan and Jean Marilyn Duncan, individually and as next friend of Matthew Duncan, Appellees, v. MUTUAL OF OMAHA; Provident Life Insurance Company; Beneficial Standard Life Insurance Company, The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 764

652 F.2d 764

Barbara Duncan RAMSEY, individually and as next friend of

Lisa Lynn Duncan and Jean Marilyn Duncan,

individually and as next friend of

Matthew Duncan, Appellees, v.MUTUAL OF OMAHA, Appellant.

Provident Life Insurance Company; Beneficial Standard Life

Insurance Company; The Mutual Life Insurance

Company of New York.

Barbara Duncan RAMSEY, individually and as next friend of

Lisa Lynn Duncan and Jean Marilyn Duncan,

individually and as next friend of

Matthew Duncan, Appellees, v.MUTUAL OF OMAHA; Provident Life Insurance Company;

Beneficial Standard Life Insurance Company,

The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, Appellant.

Nos. 80-1845, 80-1943.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted June 16, 1981.

Decided July 15, 1981.

Winford L. Dunn, Jr., argued, Smith, McClerkin, Dunn & Nutter, Texarkana, Ark., for appellant Mutual of Omaha.

W. H. Arnold, III, argued, Arnold, Arnold, Lavender & Rochelle, Ltd., Texarkana, Ark., for Matthew Duncan.

Norman C. Russell, argued, Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, Texarkana, Tex., for Barbara Duncan Ramsey, Individually and as Next Friend for Lisa Lynn Duncan.

Jim K. Goodman, argued, Kelley C. Callahan, Crowe, Dunlevy, Thweatt, Swinford, Johnson & Burdick, P. C., Oklahoma City, Okl., for appellant Mutual of New York.

Before LAY, Chief Judge, STEPHENSON, Circuit Judge, and LARSON, ^*Senior District Judge.

PER CURIAM.

In this consolidated appeal Mutual of Omaha and Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY) appeal from money judgments entered upon a jury verdict finding coverage under certain accident insurance policies issued to Dr. Lawrence Duncan, now deceased.The insurers challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, as well as certain jury instructions defining "accident" under governing state law.We find no prejudicial error and affirm the judgments.

In 1953, MONY sold a $25,000 life insurance policy, with a double indemnity provision for accidental death, to Dr. Duncan while he was living in Houston, Texas.After his marriage in 1954, Dr. Duncan designated his wife, Jean, as the policy's beneficiary.After they moved to Texarkana, Texas, in 1959, Dr. Duncan purchased a $200,000 accidental death life insurance policy from Mutual of Omaha.He named Jean and their children as beneficiaries of that policy.

In 1975, Dr. Duncan divorced his wife, Jean.He married Barbara Duncan Ramsey, and in November 1975they moved to Idabel, Oklahoma.While living in Oklahoma, Dr. Duncan amended the certificate of insurance to increase the face value of the Mutual of Omaha policy to $250,000 and to change the beneficiaries.Barbara Duncan Ramsey was named a 50% beneficiary and her daughter, a 25% beneficiary.Matthew Duncan, Dr. Duncan's son, was also named a 25% beneficiary.

On February 5, 1977, Dr. Duncan, while driving alone, crashed into a tree near Idabel, Oklahoma.He was later found unconscious in his car, which was demolished.He was rushed to an Idabel hospital and later transferred to Oklahoma City where he died on February 7, 1977.The preliminary report of the State Medical Examiner stated that Dr. Duncan's death was the result...