[Ansteorra] SCA vs Nonmembers

[Fitzmorgan at aol.com]

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Personally I'm not all that concernd with the nonmember surcharge.  If you
don't want to pay it then go get a membership.  What really concerns me is
this part:

<Begin Quote form BoD notes>


> [Discussion sidetracked briefly on a question of waiver coverage for
> nonmembers serving at events.  Andrew as Ex.Asst. answered that if a
> non-member did something in the course of assisting at an event that caused
> damages such that they and the Society were sued then the SCA would not
> defend and the SCA, Inc.'s insurance was under no obligation to defend.  He
> took it further than that, stating that if the Society were held liable for
> some
> damage not covered by insurance, the Society would sue to recover the
> funds. (The example given was a sign that was hung, then later fell and
> damaged a car.  If the sign were hung by a nonmember, the Society would sue
> to have them pay for the coverage of the car owners deductible so that the
> Society would not have to do so.  It could just as easily be accidental
> damage to a window or equipment in a kitchen.  If you aren't a member,
> perhaps you should
> reconsider donating your time and effort at events, as the SCA, Inc.,
> unlike the local group, doesn't value your assistance as much as it does
> someone who has paid dues.]
>

<End Quote>

       Imagine if you will a feast at an event.  The Head Cook is a paid
member, and has both members and nonmembers helping out in the kitchen.
During the course of preparing the feast a grease fire starts and gets out of
control burning down the feast hall.  Various people, members and nonmembers
have been tending the stove but no one is at the stove when the fire starts.
It seems posable to me that the SCAs insurance carrier could refuse to pay
because there were nonmembers present and the SCA might then sue all the
nonmembers who were helping in the kitchen, to recover losses.  Consider that
the cost of replacing a large building might well be more than the SCA Inc.
could pay.

       Since a lot of site owners require insurance as a condition of renting
us a site, knowing that the insurance won't cover damages caused by
nonmembers, are we legally or morally obligated to not let nonmembers help at
our events?   Are we morally obligated to tell the site owners when we rent
the site that we won't be responsable if someone who isn't a member causes
damage?  Will anyone rent us a site if we do?  Depending on how this is
interpreted, this could lead to major changes in how we operate.

       Can someone with more knowledge of these matters please comment?

Robert Fitzmorgan