Baseball - spectator injuries - limited duty rule

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that while a baseball fan assumes a risk of injury, “[o]nce the fan has disengaged him--or herself from the activity on the field and has left the stands, that individual is no longer trying to catch foul balls or even necessarily watching the game. It is all "harmless fun-- until that one foul ball comes screaming at the wrong time and in the wrong place." (citing Gil Fried, Baseball Spectators' Assumption of Risk: Is It 'Fair' or 'Foul'?, 13 Marq. Sports L. Rev. 39, 57 (2003).) Held: "...the limited duty rule, which restricts the tort liability of owners, applies in situations where an injury occurs in the stands. However, public policy and fairness require application of traditional negligence principles in all other areas of the stadium, including, but not limited to, concourses and mezzanine areas." Maisonave v. Newark Bears Professional Baseball Club, Inc., 2005 WL 2205663 (N.J. Sept. 13, 2005).

Posted by Mary McCormick