Firemen's Fund Insurance Co. v. Thien

After Charles Benedict died in a plane crash, most of his survivors sued Michael Thien (defendant), the courier company's operations director, for wrongful death, but two survivors, Martina and Chris, did not join because their religious group, Zion's Endeavor, prohibited participation in civil litigation and Thien was their pastor. Firemen's Fund Insurance (plaintiff), the courier company's insurer, sued Thien in federal court for a declaratory judgment on indemnification, and the litigating survivors intervened. At trial, Martina and Chris testified favorably for Thien. The district court allowed evidence that Martina and Chris belonged to Thien's church (showing potential bias) but excluded evidence of the group's specific anti-litigation beliefs. The court ruled for Thien, and the litigating survivors appealed.