Minnesota Focus Owners Club

Just curious and thought I would bring this up. I belong to a couple of dog clubs and have done so for about 17yrs now. My concern is that of liability in this sue happy world of ours. I am assuming that at the moment there isn't an organized entity called MNFOCUS.com that is in a formal and legal sense a club. I am curious as to what kind of liability we as individuals, as subscribers to MNFOCUS.com, and those that sponsor our events, Tousley and DB, have should something happen to a exhibitor, worker, or spectator at an event. Now when it comes to the dog clubs they carry insurance to cover the elected governing body against "normal" legal issues. In addition to that we carry accident insurance due to the fact that dogs are involved and may bite and that the clubs hold hunt tests and field trials in which there are guns and live fire (a bit more dangerous then a parked car). Although I don't think we need to worry about going gansta' with firearms does someone know what other associations or clubs have for insurance if anything? Does the fact that we are basically an unorganized (in legal terms) association of Focus fanciers negate us from having to have a group insurance policy. Are we then as individuals liable (I would assume so) if something happens involving our cars and/or ourselves at an event? Also do we place Tousley or any other host in jeopardy should an accident happen. I don't want to have us develop a relationship with one or more commercial entities such as Tousley and then have something happen that ends up costing them big bucks or worse and we are out a venue with a big black eye. Something to consider while this is still very new and fresh...

Brian

um.........what the hell language are you spreckin???!!!! no abla es spanyoil. nine, me sprecken da doyech

Well, I think if you get hurt while browser the website, I think mnfocus ins. covers it, but otherwise, if you somehow get hurt getting out of your car at a meet, that might be something your pers. ins. has to deal with, unless you file it up with the venue we are at(say Tousley/Ruby Tuesdays/Porkys/IHOP)

But I've never heard of someone getting hurt at a meet so bad that it involved papers and money...

o2designs wrote:Well, I think if you get hurt while browser the website, I think mnfocus ins. covers it, but otherwise, if you somehow get hurt getting out of your car at a meet, that might be something your pers. ins. has to deal with, unless you file it up with the venue we are at(say Tousley/Ruby Tuesdays/Porkys/IHOP)

But I've never heard of someone getting hurt at a meet so bad that it involved papers and money...

Not worried about me or any of the MNFOCUS crowd, more worried about spectators that would come to a organized show or autocross. The weekly meets are informal gatherings so they don't apply in my opinion. Does anyone have any experience with other auto clubs and what they do?

Brian

Well, at a autoX, you sign a waiver before you can even get onto the grounds. So noone but yourself is resp.

I'm not really sure it's an issue at all, after all it's a car dealership and it's supposed to have people and cars intermingling.

Several local dealerships host large car shows throughout the year and I am quite sure the management at Tousley would not give permission lightly if there was any serious question of liability.

Attorneys blow right thru the waiver. Event insurance is the is right tool. This however may not be enough. There is a case being tried now where the attorneys have blocked the $3MM insurance policy payout. The case centers on the death of participant in a national offshore poker run on Lake Michigan. The boat missed a cardstop and made a high speed turn. The boat spun out and ejected the crew. Two souls were lost.

The attorneys are going after the organizers of the run (an LLC), the boat manufacturer, the manufacturer of the steering system, and other big money sponsers. It's crazy shit, and common sense says they don't have a prayer, but who knows.

The above is certainly an exception though. There is some serious money involved in that event.

When we put on our annual poker run, we get event insurance. The policy is attractive enough so that if there is an "event" during our run, that payout would be prefferable to going after us or our sponsers.

Guess it depends on the size of the event and the comfort level of the organizers, whether or not to look into this extra coverage.

Good question by the original poster though. It's to bad we've become such a litagous society that we have to think about this shit.

The above example is a perfect illustration to the current state of affairs fucking lawyers have put us in.
Lets just throw some fucking bullshit litigation against any person or company that has money, they then have to spend countless time/money in defending themselves.
In the end, even if they are "cleared" they still get scewed by having to defend themselves. The party bringing the lawsuit has almost absolutely NOTHING to lose, so why not sue for your own stupidity?

Maybe I could sue MNFOCUS because I developed carpel tunnel syndrom typing all day! In addition to MNFOCUS, I will also sue...Dell, Microsoft, Firefox, Comcast, and God, (maybe). They are all responsible for my injuries.

This is why I can't understand why ANYONE would ever want to risk bringing any new product to market.

SAD.

Tim

19-Delta wrote:
SAD.

That it is bro. This case could set precedence and there are alot of eyes on it. As you said, the organizers are having to defend themselves. Although their assets are protected via the LLC, they are having to refinance those assets to keep up the fight.