Keith v. Schiefen-Stockham Insurance Agency

The opinion of the court was delivered by Plaintiffs-appellants appeal from a judgment of the trial court
sustaining a motion of defendants-appellees to dismiss on the
ground the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief
could be granted. (K.S.A. 1971 Supp. 60-212 [b] [6]). The trial
court did not specify the reasons for its ruling. This litigation stems from the tragic deaths of Lionel D. Otta
and Walter R. Buehler who were killed on the Kansas Turnpike when
the truck they were operating struck a bridge abutment near
Wichita. Plaintiffs are the surviving spouses and minor children
of the two deceased. The truck was owned by Leslie L. Johnson,
employer of the two deceased. Following the accident, the widow
and minor children of Mr. Otta instituted a workmen's
compensation proceeding against Johnson and his alleged insurance
carrier, State Automobile and Casualty Underwriters. The trial
court, in that case, found adversely to claimants on several
grounds and the judgment was affirmed by this court on December
6, 1969. (Otta v. Johnson, 204 Kan. 366, 461 P.2d 758.) A motion for rehearing in the Otta case was denied by this
court on January 9, 1970. Thereafter plaintiffs filed their
petition instituting the instant action on June 1, 1970.