Giacomelli v. Scottsdale Insurance Company

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for Scottsdale Insurance Company in favor of exclusions under a commercial general liability policy. The court held that the statutory term “exhibitors” in § 23-4-205, MCA, does not include jockeys and that the athletic or sports participants exclusion unambiguously barred coverage for jockeys injured while participating in horse races. The court also held that the exclusions did not violate public policy or the insureds’ objectively reasonable expectations.

Holdings

1. The statutory term "exhibitors" does not include jockeys. In pari-mutuel horse racing, the exhibitors are the persons who organize and present the race, while jockeys are participants.
2. The jockeys could not invalidate the exclusions or recover from Scottsdale on the theory that § 23-4-205, MCA, required coverage for jockeys, because that statute does not require such coverage.
3. The athletic-or-sports-participant exclusion is unambiguous and excludes coverage for the jockeys' injuries sustained while participating in horse races.
4. The exclusions did not violate the insureds' objectively reasonable expectations because the athletic-or-sports-participant exclusion clearly and unambiguously excluded coverage for jockeys injured while participating in horse races.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the term "exhibitors" in § 23-4-205, MCA, includes jockeys and therefore requires liability insurance coverage for jockeys.
2. Whether the jockeys could recover from Scottsdale or invalidate the policy exclusions based on Montana law.
3. Whether the athletic-or-sports-participant exclusion in the CGL policy was ambiguous.
4. Whether the policy exclusions violated the insureds' objectively reasonable expectations of coverage.

Disposition

affirmed