Insurance company aims not to cover Kansas City Sports Commission in mass shooting lawsuits

PJ Green, The Kansas City Star on Jul 30, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An insurance company that covered Kansas City’s 2024 Super Bowl parade and rally has filed a claim in federal court, seeking to avoid paying out a policy to the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission concerning the mass shooting after the rally, court records show.

In May, after initially agreeing to defend the sports commission against lawsuits from shooting victims, Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance Company filed declaratory judgments in federal court, aiming to deny coverage to the sports commission. The insurance company claims its insuring agreement does not cover the Greater KC Sports Commission for such lawsuits.

Cincinnati claims the policy does not cover bodily injury that arises out of an actual, threatened or alleged assault or battery, whether caused by or at the instigation or direction of any insured, their employees, patrons, or any other person. This also applies to the failure to prevent or suppress assault or battery and failure to provide an environment safe from assault or battery, including failure to provide adequate security.

The sports commission is currently being sued by James Lemons, 40, in Jackson County Circuit Court, and several other victims in at least three lawsuits, who were among at least 24 people shot at the rally when gunfire broke out during a disagreement between two groups of people.

The Greater Kansas City Sports Commission declined to comment on pending litigation. Cincinnati Insurance Companies, the company of which Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance Company is a subsidiary, also declined to comment.

The sports commission has filed several counterclaims, arguing that Cincinnati Insurance should have filed and argued its declaratory judgments in the same court as the lawsuit, instead of federal court.

The policy was written to cover only five days, from Feb. 12 to Feb. 17, covering $1 million for each occurrence and up to $5 million, per court records. Cincinnati Insurance claims the policy does not cover bodily injury alleged from victims.

Lemons’s injury must be caused by the sports commission’s work during the parade or have occurred during the parade for it to be covered, Cincinnati Insurance argued. Lemons took a bullet in the leg while moving his wife and two children away from the sound of gunfire, according to the lawsuit. He fell to the ground while carrying one of his children, but was able to rise without dropping her.

Lemons was unable to work for at least three months following his injury, according to a fundraiser shared by the Lemons family, which raised more than $11,000. Bullet fragments had lodged in his knee and thigh muscles, limiting Lemons’ mobility and requiring at least one surgery, his wife Brandie Lemons wrote in May 2024.

Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old mother of two, was the only person who died in the shooting. About 60 others reported injuries caused by crowd crush during the mass panic and stampede following the shooting.

At least six people fired guns during the shooting, according to a federal investigation. Dominic Miller, 19; Terry Young, 21; and Lyndell Mays, 24, all face related charges, including second-degree murder. Three teenagers were also charged in the shooting.

On July 9, the insurance company was granted a motion to intervene in Lemons’s lawsuit to request a pause until the coverage claims have been decided.

A hearing for the sports commission’s counterclaim in Lemons’s suit is set for Aug. 20.

_____