A federal judge from the District of Minnesota has ruled that Scottsdale Insurance Co. does not owe any coverage to a Minnesota ranch, which was named a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit by a man who was gored by a bull during a softball game at the ranch.
In granting summary judgment to Scottsdale, the court found that exclusions for “athletic or sports participants” and “special event participant” in ranch owners Troy and Peggy Meech’s commercial general liability policy preclude coverage in the underlying suit.
By way of background, the Meeches own the Meech Bucking Bull Ranch in Sebeka, Minnesota, which is headquartered about 170 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Each year, the Meeches host the Nimrod Bull Bash.
The plaintiff, Scott Sellers, attended the Nimrod Bull Bash on Sept. 4, 2021. Further, he was invited to participate in the “cowboy softball” game, where participants play softball with live bulls on the field. Sellers did not sign a waiver and was allegedly told that the game was “perfectly safe” and that “no one had ever been hurt” in previous events. However, the plaintiff was gored by a bull and tossed into the air while attempting to field a ball over second base.
Sellers subsequently sued the ranch owners in December 2021 in Minnesota’s Wadena County District Court. He alleged that their negligence caused him to suffer “severe and permanent injuries including a neck fracture and paralysis.” Sellers asked for more than $50,000 in damages for his past and future physical and mental pain, suffering and permanent disability.
After initially agreeing to defend the Meeches, Scottsdale and its attorneys changed their mind and sought a declaration that the insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify the ranch owners.
In its motion for summary judgment, Scottsdale claimed two exclusions – an exclusion for “Athletic or Sports Participants” and a “Special Event Participant Exclusion” – in the $1 million policy bar coverage of the underlying action.
The court noted that the Meeches “do not dispute that these exclusions preclude coverage for any injuries suffered by a participant in the Cowboy Softball game. The Meeches likewise do not dispute that Sellers in fact participated in the game. Instead, the Meeches contend that Sellers cannot be considered a participant because he was not authorized to play. The Meeches require all participants to register in advance and sign a waiver. Sellers did neither; instead, according to the Meeches, he entered the field without consent from the Meeches or any agent of the Meeches.
“Unfortunately for the Meeches, however, coverage is precluded regardless of whether Sellers’ participation in the softball game was authorized. The language of the ‘Athletic or Sports Participants’ exclusion precludes coverage for ‘bodily injury’ to any person arising out of practicing for or participating in any sports or athletic contest or exhibition that you sponsor.
“Similarly, the ‘Special Event Participant Exclusion’ precludes coverage for ‘bodily injury . . . arising out of . . . [t]he practicing for or participation in any athletic event, contest, [or] game . . . covered by this policy.’ The former exclusion does not define ‘participant;’ the latter includes a broad definition of ‘participant,’ which includes performers, volunteers, and ‘any other person taking part’ in the activities covered by the exclusion.
“The language of these exclusions plainly covers any person who actually participated in the Cowboy Softball game regardless of whether the person was authorized to do so; there is no language that distinguishes between authorized and unauthorized participants. Accordingly, the Court grants Scottsdale’s motion for summary judgment.”
Scottsdale Insurance Co. v. Meech et al.; D. Minn.; No. 22-cv-454; 4/25/23
