Arkansas Supreme Court Finds Ambiguity In Business Pursuits Exclusion
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in McGrew v. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. of Arkansas, No. 07-421 (Ark. November 29, 2007) that a wrongful death action brought against a nurse who moonlighted as a babysitter was not subject to a “business pursuits” exclusion in her homeowner’s policy. While agreeing that babysitting, although not the insured’s principal vocation, was a “trade or business,” the court found ambiguity with respect to an exception to the exclusion for “activity that minors normally perform” as a reasonable person might determine that the policy covered minors, as well as adults, who were performing activities such as child care or babysitting. The case was therefore remanded for factual findings by a jury in accordance with Arkansas principles of policy interpretation to resolve the perceived ambiguity.
