I was playing in a poker tournament fundraiser not to long ago for a kids sports team. These are always a good time because it doesn’t matter if you play well or can hardly play. However, on occasion a self impressed asshole shows up that can’t hold his liquor and feels an obligation to belittle the poorer players at the table. He is too stupid to realize these are the best people in the room!! They risk the embarrassment of not knowing how to play well (even though they should not be embarrassed at all – other players love to help and appreciate them!) and just show up to support the Team.
I was at a different table and did not realize this was going on, but one of the other players told me the next day that a couple of the bigger guys in the room were asking "who is this guy?!" The player told them and asked why. They detailed what was going on and then explained that if he didn’t settle down, they were going to take him outside give him a "talking too" which probably meant an attitude adjustment. I am not certain, but I’ll assume they were Dad’s of a couple of players on the team, so they appreciate everybody that shows up and it is important to them that everybody has a good time. If the subjugation of an asshole is a requirement of said good time, I'll all also assume that they figure "so be it."
Homeowners Liability and Fighting:
A message was relayed to the guy and he did settled down, but let’s say he hadn’t and there was a follow thru on the plan. If he had gotten a bit roughed up, a suit likely follows. While most wouldn’t be too concerned about some tool that chastises others, the courts likely will not see it that way. And unfortunately there is likely no coverage for the administrators of the "personality makeover" since the Personal Liability Section of the Homeowners policy excludes coverage for claims which are expected or intended.
But let’s take a different example, you take your family to a ball game and a belligerent spectator starts at you and things begin to escalate and you feel your family and you are threatened. You sense you are going to have to fight and intend to, to protect your family and yourself. Your policy will likely defend you because the exclusion in the paragraph above does not apply to "bodily injury resulting from the use of reasonable force…." to defend yourself. Note the word "reasonable", since it is not defined in the policy it will be up to the courts to define. There is likely a fine line between self-defense and assault – my best guess is, once you've gained control of the situation, it's time to reel it in.
The paragraph above is a real story about me - I stood frozen and in awe as my wife beat the crap out of 3 grown men!
Posted by Dan Hebbeln: dan@hebbeln-ins.com