Christian summer camp Kanakuk Ministries and its insurer are not liable after allegedly concealing knowledge of sexual misconduct at its camp, a judge in Christian County Circuituled Friday.
The case was brought by Logan Yandell, a survivor of sexual abuse by Kanakuk Ministries’ former camp director Pete Newman. Yandell alleged the camp’s CEO lied to his parents, which influenced them to sign a settlement and non-disclosure agreement for $250,000 that they otherwise would have continued to fight.
Yandell says his family relied on statements made by camp CEO Joe White on a phone call that “nothing has been on (the camp’s) radar with (Newman)” when settling in 2010.
Yandell’s attorney Reed Martens argued in a November proceeding that the camp’s insurer, ACE American Insurance Co., influenced White to cover up his knowledge, saying White was acting as an agent of the insurance company during the phone conversation.
Judge Raymond Gross, who typically serves in Ozark County but was brought in to oversee the case, dismissed Yandell’s claims of fraud, saying he lacked the “right to rely” on a misstatement by White after newspapers reported that Kanakuk “knew of inappropriate behavior since 2003” and a public sentencing referenced the camp’s knowledge.
Yandell said he didn’t realize White had not told the truth until 2021, but Gross ruled that there were occasions he should have learned of the camp’s negligence years prior.
The statute of limitations in Missouri restricts fraud claims to five years after the fraud is discovered. Yandell should have known about the misstatement more than five years before he filed his claim, Gross wrote, making him ineligible to bring the claim.
Gross also rejected ACE Insurance as responsible for White’s statement, writing: “There is no evidence that ACE vested White with any power to speak or act on its behalf.”
The ruling did not mention a letter that the camp drafted to send to families that ACE “strongly recommended not to send.” This occurred after the phone call with the misstatement.Gross wrote that there was no evidence of ACE pressuring White “prior to or during the phone call.”
The trial scheduled for July is now canceled. Attorneys for Yandell could not be immediately reached for comment.