With thanks to a Coverage Opinions reader who took me back to the good ol’ days of my annual “Coverage For Dummies” article -- a look at the really dumb stuff that people did that year -- and then turned around and sought coverage for the damage and injury caused. 

I’ll let the Mississippi Supreme Court describe what someone somehow thought was a good idea:

“The issue before this Court is whether the losses sustained by the Thompsons, when Partridge towed his personal vehicle bolted to the Murphy’s Welding forklift [owned by James Allen “Bubba” Murphy] backwards down the highway at night after his workday had ended relate to or arise out of the Murphy’s Welding business operations.”

Here’s the backstory.

Partridge was an employee at Murphy’s Welding and lived about 300 feet away.  His personal truck had a mechanical issue.  Partridge planned to use the welding shop’s truck and trailer to tow his personal truck from his house to the Murphy’s Welding shop, where he planned to repair his truck.

After that didn’t work, Partridge turned to the Murphy’s Welding forklift, using the forks of the forklift to lift the disabled rear of his truck and tow it backwards down the highway at night. You can see where this is going – a vehicle struck the forklift, the occupants were injured, they filed suit, coverage was sought under the Murphy’s Welding commercial general liability policy, a coverage dispute arose, litigation was filed, the issue made its way to the Mississippi high court and then…. an appearance in Coverage Opinions.  It is the insurance coverage circle of life.    

Held: “The losses sustained by the Thompsons do not arise out of or relate to the Murphy’s Welding business operations. Consequently, the commercial general liability policy issued by Penn-Star to Murphy’s Welding does not provide coverage for the Thompsons’ injuries.”