Lundeen v. Cordner

Lundeen (plaintiff), suing on her children's behalf as named beneficiaries of their late father's life insurance policy, faced competing claims from France Cordner (their father's second wife), who submitted affidavits from the decedent's own attorney and a company employee, Burks, all indicating the decedent had validly changed his beneficiary designation to France before his death, though the actual paperwork couldn't be located. Lundeen offered no contrary evidence beyond an affidavit about the decedent's general concern for his children, and the trial court granted France's motion for summary judgment; Lundeen appealed, arguing she should be entitled to cross-examine Burks at trial.