As the federal case against Kingfisher Public Schools, two of its coaches and two former coaches moves forward, it will be the school district –not an insurance company – on the hook for the legal bills.

A change in insurance carriers between the time when the incidents giving rise to the lawsuit allegedly occurred and when the case was filed created an inadvertant coverage gap, Superintendent Dr. Daniel Craig said.

However, the previous insurance carrier and the district’s attorneys both concluded that the lawsuit’s claims would have been beyond the scope of the former policy, even if it had still been in place when the suit was filed.

KPS is currently insured by Oklahoma Schools Insurance Group (OSIG). The policy went into effect July 1, 2021, after the district’s board of education voted to not continue with Oklahoma Schools Risk Management Trust (OSMRT), its provider for several years.

OSMRT was in the midst of financial issues due to a declining client base and a bulk of large payouts to policyholders.

KPS paid OSMRT premiums totaling just over $265,000 in FY 2021, but the insurance provider offered a quote of more than $400,000 for this fiscal year.

OSIG’s quote was $270,537 for the same policy.

That, plus the likelihood OSMRT would not remain solvent, prompted the board to make the move to OSIG.

A case was filed July 29, 2021, in Kingfisher County District Court against KPS, head football coach Jeff Myers, assistant coach Derek Patterson and former assistant coaches Micah Nall and Blake Eaton.

The suit, filed by “John Doe No. 1,” alleged a number of hazing, bullying and abuse incidents by teammates and the named coaches.

John Doe is a pseudonym for a 2021 KHS graduate who played football from 2017-20, according to court documents.

The district was still insured by OSMRT at the time of the alleged incidents, meaning OSIG, its provider when the suit was filed, would not approve any claims.

One day after the case was filed, Kingfisher Superintendent Dr. Daniel Craig filed a claim with OSMRT, which was denied

Among the reasons given was that KPS didn’t purchase “tail coverage,” which insures claims filed after the policy lapses for incidents that occurred while the policy was still in force.

OSMRT sent notices offering tail coverage to school districts who did not renew their policies. In Kingfisher’s case, the coverage would have cost just over $6,400, but the notice was sent to the email of former superintendent Jason Sternberger and not to Craig’s email.

Craig said he was not informed of the option to purchase tail coverage until after the deadline had passed.

However, when he eventually was able to reach an OSMRT representative in Chicago via phone, Craig learned that purchasing tail coverage apparently wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

“I was told that even if they (OSMRT) had the money, they wouldn’t approve it because our policy didn’t cover that type of claim,” Craig told the Times & Free Press.

Craig was told that claims excluded from coverage included “actual, threatened or alleged occurrence of sexual abuse” or “anything outside your duties as a teacher or coach.”

“If someone was driving a bus and wrecked, it would have been covered by our policy,” Craig said. “Because that falls under their duties. What was being alleged was not covered.”

Craig got the official denial of coverage in writing in October 2021.

The district’s attorneys at Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold in Tulsa also thoroughly researched the policy and drafted a legal memorandum reaching the same conclusion that the claim didn’t fall under the policy’s purview.

“So even if OSMRT had the money and even if we had purchased the tail coverage, it wouldn’t have mattered,” Craig said.

That leaves the district to pay from the general fund all attorneys’ fees and other costs associated with the case, including any potential settlement or damages awarded by a jury.

KPS, Myers, Patterson and Eaton are represented by the school’s attorneys.

Nall is represented by Mark S. Rains, whose fees are not covered by the district.

The fees for all are paid by the district.

From July 31 through Feb. 28, the district had been billed $42,025.89 in attorneys’ fees related to the case.

“There have been more since then, but not a lot,” Craig said. “But if and when this goes to trial, that number will get significantly higher.”

The district – but not the coaches – was offered a settlement of $1.5 million by the plaintiff’s attorney Cameron Spradling.

After a lengthy executive session with the district’s attorneys in a special meeting in mid-March, the school board voted unanimously to reject the offer.

The case has been assigned to Judge Charles Goodwin in the United States Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

After its original filing, the lawsuit was amended in January and then later that month moved to the federal court.

According to court documents, the plaintiff’s witness list is due Oct. 4 and the defendants’ list 15 days after that.

Motions are due by Nov. 1 and discovery is to be completed by Dec. 1.

A jury trial is currently slated to begin Feb. 14, 2023, in Oklahoma City.