FSU College of Law Research Center Blog

Damages For Dented Pickup?

A possible torts exam question?

Facts:  A, a city employee, is given a city vehicle to use.  He drives his private vehicle, a pickup truck, to work and parks it in a city lot.  After a New Year's Eve party, A backs the city vehicle into his parked pickup damaging the side of his truck.  A files a claim against the city which the City Council denies.  B, A's wife and co-owner of the pickup, then files a complaint which the city ignores.  B sues the city without naming A in the suit.  Will B prevail in her suit?  Under what theory?

Answer:  San Joaquin Superior Court, Lodi, California, June 1, 2006

Posted by Faye Jones

Hurricane Katrina Litigation

On October 17, 2005, Maples & Kirwan filed suit on behalf of Rocco and Thomas Tommaseo  (1:05-cv-01119-SGB) in the Federal Court of Claims against the United States, alleging that the Army Corps of Engineers' creation of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet was a "taking" for which compensation should be given to owners of real property flooded by Hurricane Katrina.  The Washington Post has excerpted some of the counts in the complaint in Verbatim.  The complaint is not available through PACER.

Posted by Mary McCormick

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