Judge rules insurer must pay Missouri convention's legal fees

KANSAS CITY (BP) - Church Mutual Insurance Company must pay part of the legal fees of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) in the litigation with five agencies, a federal court has ruled.

The insurance company had sued the MBC in federal court in Kansas City, denying that the convention's insurance policy provided any coverage for the Cole County litigation. U.S. District Judge Scott Wright disagreed. In an order issued the last week of June, Wright held that the insurance policies do provide coverage for the counterclaims filed by the agencies against the MBC, so that the insurer must pay part of the legal fees incurred in defending against those counterclaims.

Church Mutual filed motions for partial summary judgment in the case and also filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint, in order to join the five agencies as defendants. MBC attorneys had opposed all motions, and had filed their own cross motion for partial summary judgment. The court denied the motion for leave to amend.

A later hearing will be held to determine the dollar amount that Church Mutual must pay. A hearing date has not yet been set.