ACE Insurance Denies Responsibility to Pay Claims for Kanakuk Kamps
In its answer, the insurer argues that Kanakuk failed to state a claim for relief against it.
ACE American Insurance Company denies it must provide coverage to Kanakuk Kamps for claims filed against the camp by sexual abuse survivor Logan Yandell. It also asserts that Kanakuk failed to state a cause of action in its cross-claim against ACE. 
In its answer to the cross-claim filed by Kanakuk Kamps for breach of contract and fiduciary duty and for bad faith refusal to defend, ACE maintained that Yandell’s lawsuit does not qualify for coverage under the policy’s definitions of “bodily injury” or “property damage.”
ACE argued several other reasons why the cross-claim failed, including that Kanakuk failed to mitigate any damages it may have suffered and that any damages Kanakuk may have suffered were outside of ACE’s control.
In November 2022, Yandell filed a lawsuit—including a fraud claim—against Kanakuk Kamps Kanakuk Ministries, Kanakuk Heritage, and Joe White, president of Kanakuk.
Yandell agreed to settle with the camp for an undisclosed amount in 2010 and signed a nondisclosure agreement, but now claims that agreement was based on false and fraudulent representations by the Kanakuk defendants.
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Between 2005 and 2008, Yandell says he was sexually abused by former camp counselor Peter Newman. Newman was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2009 and is currently serving two life sentences plus 30 years in prison.
Yandell said in his lawsuit that Kanakuk represented to him that it “had no prior knowledge of any sexual misconduct committed by Newman.”
Earlier this month, Kanakuk filed a cross-claim against ACE American Insurance claiming ACE was the camp’s liability insurer during the years of Yandell’s abuse and was the party that failed to reveal its knowledge of Newman’s misconduct to Yandell.
“Ace orchestrated, directed, and assumed complete control over the negotiation and settlement of Plaintiff Yandell’s claims,” Kanakuk asserted.
ACE admits that it participated in the negotiations for settlement with Yandell, adding that “to the extent information pertaining to Newman was not disclosed to [Yandell], such information could not be disclosed under the circumstances in that Newman’s confidential personnel information would have been protected by the fundamental right to privacy that an employee has in their employment records as recognized under Missouri law.”
Additionally, Kanakuk said it planned to send email letters to about 8,000 families of campers who had enrolled at Kanakuk Kamps for the summer camps in 2010 to inform them about Newman’s misconduct, but was stopped by ACE.
In its answer, ACE denies that it prevented Kanakuk from sending such letters. It quoted a letter it sent to Kanakuk regarding a letter to families, saying it was the first it had learned of Newman’s 2003 probationary period.
The case is proceeding in the Circuit Court of Christian County, Missouri.
