Concurrent Causation Falls Short to Assault-and-Battery Exclusion

The judges of the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of two cases against an insurer after finding the concurrent causation rule did not prevent the application of a policy exclusion for assault and battery. The case is called Scaglione v. Acceptance Indem. Ins. Co., 75 F.4th 944 (8th Cir. 2023).

In the wee hours of June 16, 2019, two patrons of Voce Bar in downtown St. Louis got into a fight with firearms. A stray shot struck and injured a bystanding patron, Sominkcole Conner, who sued Voce’s owner and operator, Steven Scaglione, for premises liability and negligence in Missouri state court. Conner claimed Scaglione knew patrons, especially early morning patrons, came to the bar armed, yet he did not have sufficient security measures in place to protect innocent bar patrons. Scaglione sought defense and indemnity under his CGL policy with Acceptance, who refused to provide either service. The case went to arbitration, which ended with a $2.5 million award to Conner.