Business Insurance
Scottsdale
Insurance Co. is not obligated to indemnify a hunt club member who
accidentally shot someone under terms of the club’s commercial general
liability policy, an appeals court ruled.
While
shooting at a deer from land leased by Northumberland Hunt Club,
Timothy B. Johnson, a member of the club, unintentionally shot and
injured Danny Ray Marks Jr., who was traveling on Route 642 adjacent to
the land in Richmond County, Virginia, in January 2013, according to
Monday’s ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond,
Virginia, in Danny Ray Marks Jr. and Timothy B. Johnson v. Scottsdale Insurance Co.
Mr.
Marks filed suit against Mr. Johnson in Virginia state court in
December 2013. According to the complaint, Mr. Johnson, who had
extensive firearm training and was familiar with the location, took a
position about 75 yards from the highway, even though he knew or should
have known his gun could shot further than 75 yards.
When
Mr. Johnson shot in the direction of the highway, one of the pellets
from his gun struck Mr. Marks in the head, according to the complaint.
In
January 2014, Mr. Marks also filed suit against Scottsdale,
Arizona-based Scottsdale Insurance, seeking a declaration it had a duty
to indemnify Mr. Johnson.
Debate Magazine
