For the past eight Januaries I have published an article called“Coverage for Dummies.” It's a review of the most notable cases,from the year just concluded involving people who did, well, reallydumb stuff, and then turned around and sought insurance coveragefor their consequences.

Liability insurance is, by definition, a product that providesfinancial protection when things don't turn out as planned. Most ofthe time when this occurs it's simply a case of bad luck orbecause, well, stuff just happens. But there are other times whenliability claims are the result of peoples' actions that were soill-conceived or foolhardy that a claim was as predictable as dayfollowing night.

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Eventually the incredulous behavior leads to a lawsuit, whichleads to an insurance claim, which leads to a coverage dispute,which leads to a reported decision, which leads to the final stageof this insurance circle of life — an appearance in “Coverage forDummies.”

This year, instead of looking at the best “Dummies” cases of2016, I have taken a different tack, creating the “Coverage forDummies” Hall of Fame. These are the cases that make even thedumbest people look as cautious as Felix Unger.

It's easy to make fun of these cases. But the list — groupedgenerally by insurance category — actually says a lot about therole of insurance in society. In many of the cases the court isrequired to address whether people can pass off responsibility forknowingly foolish conduct under policies designed to prevent“accidents.”

Editor's note: Randy Maniloff is anattorney at White and Williams, LLP in Philadelphia, where herepresents insurers in coverage disputes under a host of policies.He is the co-author of General Liability Insurance Coverage – KeyIssues in Every State (3rd edition, National Underwriter)and the publisher of the newsletter and websitewww.CoverageOpinions.info, where you can reada longer version of this list.

Is the deer real or a target? Only the pranksters knew forsure. (Photo: iStock)

Auto insurance cases

Serious bodily injuries were sustained by motorists who droveoff the road, after swerving to avoid hitting a target deer that agroup of high school friends had placed 15 to 30 yards beyond thecrest of a hill, at night, in the middle of an unlit two-laneroadway, with a speed limit of 55 mph. Why did they do this? Toobserve the reactions of motorists suddenly confronted with anobstruction directly in front of them. Allstate Ins. Co. v.Campbell, No. 09AP-306, 2009 Ohio App. Lexis 5096 (Ohio Ct.App. Nov. 17, 2009).

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A driver injured a person with his automobile, then exited thevehicle and struck the victim three times with a golf club,breaking three ribs — all in response to the victim entering theinsured's property to retrieve a baseball accidentally hit onto theinsured's property by the victim's son. Farmers Auto. Ins.Ass'n. v. Danner, No. 4-08-0905, 2009 Ill. App. Lexis 992(Ill. App. Ct. Sept. 3, 2009).

When you intentionally hit someone with your car, even if youjust slowly roll forward into them, you cannot avoid the“intentional act” exclusion by maintaining that “It was nothing,”and concluding that any sober person could and would have moved.Oh, did I mention, the victim was missing part of one leg and usingcrutches? Hurst v. Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co., No.11-162, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 701 (Ark. App. Ct. Nov. 2,2011).

In an attempt to annoy his girlfriend, an insured repeatedlygrabbed the steering while she was driving. When she tried to pushhim away, she lost control of the car and hit a concrete wall. Itwould have been safer to just ask — every five minutes — “Are wealmost there?” Sunshine State Ins. Co. v. Jones, 77 So. 3d254 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Many children are walking away from organized sports thanksto overbearing parents who get into fights at games. (Photo:iStock)

Sports and 'entertainment'

What not to allegedly do at a little league game: Sit behindhome plate, in the lowest row of the bleachers, and tell thecatcher, who is someone else's son, that he is making too manymistakes. And especially don't do it six or seven times in oneinning. And really don't do it if you need a cane to walk.Baggett v. Allstate Ins. Co., 39 So. 3d 666 (La. Ct. App.2010).

What else not to allegedly do at a little league game, inparticular when you're the league president: Assault a spectator,causing multiple facial fractures, including a broken nose, septumand permanent nerve damage. And double especially don't do itwhen the spectator is a player's grandmother. NellieEllison v. Kentucky Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co., No.2009-CA-116, 2010 Ky. App. Unpub. LEXIS 567 (Ky. App. Ct. July 9,2010).

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Two men, as part of a celebration of the upcoming birth of achild of one of them, held a party — a “diaper shootout” — to whichguests could bring diapers for the new baby and enjoy an afternoonshooting guns. As a grand finale they decided to blow up an oldrefrigerator. Guests stood behind tables 50 meters away from therefrigerator with explosives placed inside. Upon firing at therefrigerator it immediately blew apart and sent shrapnel flyingacross the yard. A piece of shrapnel hit a guest's hand, nearlysevering it. Yikes. This guy is going to be a parent.Blank-Greer v. Tannerite Sports, LLC, No. 13-1266 (N.D.Ohio Apr. 21, 2015).

An insured was injured when he used his pickup truck and apulley in an attempt to lift a portable toilet onto a deer stand.Hays v. Georgia Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co., 722 S.E.2d 923(Ga. Ct. App. 2012).

A man's eight-year-old son was playing with friends and wantedto get some sparklers out of the car. Dad used his keyless remoteto open the door but did not follow his son to the car — nor checkup on him for the next few hours. It turns out that his son didn'tretrieve just sparklers from the car (as if that would have beenOK) but he took bottle rockets, too. One of the friends lit abottle rocket that hit another in the eye. Auto Club PropertyCasualty Ins. Co. v. B.T., 596 Fed. Appx. 409 (6th Cir.2015).

Neighbors have been known to disagree over many littlethings, even when there are fences in between. (Photo:iStock)

Homeowners

An insured responded to a property-line dispute by attaching tothe fence-at-issue life-sized paper targets cut into the shape ofhuman beings and riddled with bullet holes. And that was probablyhis tamest response. Browning v. American Family Mut. Ins.Co., No. 09-1375, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 19697 (10th Cir. Sept.22, 2010) (applying Colorado law).

Related: 15 preventable homeowners' insurance claims and howto avoid them

A mother was out shopping and her daughters were arguing. Then,16-year-old Francesca retaliated against her 13-year-old sister,Gabriella, by pushing a lit piece of paper into a vent connectingtheir bedrooms. As a result, the house caught fire and wasextensively damaged. Remy v. Travelers Home & Marine Ins.Co., No. 11-3564, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81701 (N.D. Ill. June11, 2013).

In a category that always has a lot of contenders – FightsBetween Neighbors – the award goes to Hartford UnderwritersIns. Co. v. Masters, Nos. 10-629 and 11-174, 2011 U.S. Dist.LEXIS 59306 (D. Hawaii June 2, 2011). The insured shined spotlightson a neighbor's property that were of such high intensity that theyinterfered with the targeted neighbors' sleeping patterns andpresented a danger to the Native Hawaiian shearwater birds in thearea.

Bad things often happen in bars, especially when people havebeen drinking too much. (Photo: iStock)

Bars and restaurants

The insured bit off a portion of someone's nose in a bar fight.What started this, you wonder? One woman pretended “to borrow” acigarette out of another woman's purse. Perhaps that's why the boxcarries a warning that smoking can be hazardous to your health.Metropolitan Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Nieto, No.13-5805, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90658 (W.D. Wash. July 2, 2014).

In a category that always has a lot of contenders – Bad BarSecurity – the award goes to Rizzi v. United States LiabilityIns. Co., No. 095010775S, 2010 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1808 (Conn.Super. Ct. July 13, 2010): A patron spent six hours in agentlemen's club drinking, locked himself in the men's room for 30minutes, emerged completely naked, after which club employees tiedhis pants around his waist, wrapped his head in a shirt andridiculed him as he was escorted out of the establishment,whereupon he fell down an embankment and was killed.

Related: 5 liability issues restaurant, bar and tavernowners need to watch out for Crazydentist with syringe Stock photo ID:

Professional liability can occur in many occupations, notjust doctors and dentists. (Photo: iStock)

Professional liability

A motivational speaker sought coverage for injuries sustained bya program participant when, at the repeated urgings of the speaker,the participant attempted to break a board with her hands. Ouch!Reese v. Alea London Ltd., No. 3:07-cv-1402, 2008 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 29951 (D.S.C. Apr. 11, 2008).

A dentist used street cocaine to anesthetize a patient's gumsduring a root canal procedure. (I would have commented on this,except I'm speechless.) Physicians Ins. Co. of Wisconsin v.Williams, 279 P.3d 174 (Nev. 2012).

What not to say in a letter of recommendation for ananesthesiologist whom you fired after suspecting that he wasdiverting Demerol for personal use and whom you found passed out inthe break room from taking Valium: an “excellent anesthesiologist”and “highly” recommended. Preau v. St. Paul Fire & MarineIns. Co., No. 09-4252, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77210 (E.D. La.July 30, 2010).

A court addressed coverage for claims against a real estateagent who showed a house — and that's not all he showed — while itsowners were out of the country. Warning: Hand sanitizer (and blacklight) required. Safeco Ins. Co. v. Skar, No. 10-4789,2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82548 (D. Minn. July 27, 2011).

Related: Understanding claims made & reported inprofessional liability policies