Liability question

kjcba8101

Senior
Dec 9, 2007
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I have a question for the legal types on board. I'm thinking of buying a mat to have some guys (jiu jitsu) come over to my house and roll. With that comes some liability. I have an umbrella policy that exceeds my net worth, I would only be rolling with friends/people I trust, and I would have them sign a disclosure to hold me harmless for potential injuries. Knowing this, does it seems reasonable to have this kind of activity going on at my property? If not, what are the alternatives? City park, etc? Thanks in advance.
 

DrMaseofBase

All-Conference
Jan 12, 2017
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I have a question for the legal types on board. I'm thinking of buying a mat to have some guys (jiu jitsu) come over to my house and roll. With that comes some liability. I have an umbrella policy that exceeds my net worth, I would only be rolling with friends/people I trust, and I would have them sign a disclosure to hold me harmless for potential injuries. Knowing this, does it seems reasonable to have this kind of activity going on at my property? If not, what are the alternatives? City park, etc? Thanks in advance.
It's 2017. You can roll around with other men anywhere you want, and Obama will give you a medal.
 
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Pokes15

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Aug 28, 2006
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I have a question for the legal types on board. I'm thinking of buying a mat to have some guys (jiu jitsu) come over to my house and roll. With that comes some liability. I have an umbrella policy that exceeds my net worth, I would only be rolling with friends/people I trust, and I would have them sign a disclosure to hold me harmless for potential injuries. Knowing this, does it seems reasonable to have this kind of activity going on at my property? If not, what are the alternatives? City park, etc? Thanks in advance.

Doing this in a city park would be quite dangerous as I would think it would be deemed as an aggressive move toward the LARPer's, resulting in fisticuffs.
 

hollywood

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May 29, 2001
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I think someone in insurance would be the "go to" person to answer this question as most lawyers (unless they work for insurance companies) aren't really equipped to answer. The question boils down to whether insurance is adequate to cover the risk and only those with a working knowledge of policy coverage, exclusions, etc. would likely know the answer.
 

JonnyVito

Heisman
Mar 12, 2008
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Ya you need to have a lawyer read your insurance policy. This will be the key. I am not giving any advise on this. I would advise against this even if the policy would cover it because if a claim happens then the loss ratio still follows you and if a claim happens then your rates will go up. Just sign up for a class at the local YMCA.
 

kjcba8101

Senior
Dec 9, 2007
2,259
606
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Ya you need to have a lawyer read your insurance policy. This will be the key. I am not giving any advise on this. I would advise against this even if the policy would cover it because if a claim happens then the loss ratio still follows you and if a claim happens then your rates will go up. Just sign up for a class at the local YMCA.


Well, I go to a local gym, but with kids and a job I'm looking for more time to train.
 

mad4osu

Senior
Dec 8, 2002
1,924
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113
I have a question for the legal types on board. I'm thinking of buying a mat to have some guys (jiu jitsu) come over to my house and roll. With that comes some liability. I have an umbrella policy that exceeds my net worth, I would only be rolling with friends/people I trust, and I would have them sign a disclosure to hold me harmless for potential injuries. Knowing this, does it seems reasonable to have this kind of activity going on at my property? If not, what are the alternatives? City park, etc? Thanks in advance.
Bad plan... I guess a driving question would be, are they paying anything to be there? If so, you now have a business and that would be specifically excluded from your homeowners and umbrella policies. If its all in fun and could not be business related, it would be no different than having a group of friends coming over to play wiffle ball. It is my opinion that it would be covered by both your personal liability as well as your personal umbrella. That being said, I think that this is an ginormously bad decision. As Vito eluded to, a claim of any sort would follow you around for at least 5 years and make your insurance premiums painful at best. A claim of this type would be very muddy to wade through and likely consume vast amounts of your time to settle. FWIW most waivers arent worth the paper that they are written on. An accidental injury or expected injury is one thing, what about the staph they get from your mat? etc...This is a no bueno decision in my humble O