It’s “like a climber suing a mountain”, writes Rod Liddle of the U.K. case of Manchester United trainee Ben Collett, awarded £4.5 million for the injury. (“Footballer” does not signify American football, but soccer). (The Spectator, Aug. 13; Times Online, Telegraph).
Posts Tagged ‘sports’
Jockey sues track owner over fall
Maryland jockey Christopher Martin was thrown from his horse during a 2005 race and filed suit three years later claiming permanent disability, contending “the irregular shape and poor maintenance of the racetrack caused his thoroughbred, ‘Miner Distraction,’ to collide with another horse and stumble.” (Bill Childs, TortsProf, Sept. 15).
Claim: Paralympics doesn’t get enough USOC support
According to litigant/athlete Tony Iniguez, it’s a violation of federal anti-discrimination law for the U.S. Olympic Committee not to provide fuller support for regular Olympic sports than it does for the Paralympics, a separate competition for disabled athletes. A federal district court and appeals court have disagreed so far with his urgings. (Alan Schwarz, “Paralympic Athletes Add Equality to Their Goals”, New York Times, Sept. 5).
Wrestlers Slam WWE and Claim: We’re Not Independent Contractors
What would Andre the Giant have thought about a new lawsuit just removed to federal court on Friday? Three wrestlers, Scott Levy (better known as Raven), Christopher Klucsarits (known as Chris Kanyon) and Michael Sanders (“Above Average” Mike Sanders), have brought a class-action lawsuit against the Connecticut-based World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. company alleging that they have been misclassified as “independent contractors” instead of employees. They are seeking unspecified “financial benefits” that would have come with being an employee. WWE has denied the claims in a 10-Q filing but has not filed a formal response yet. Of course, Overlawyered has chronicled lawsuits like this before — previous a group of strippers also claimed that they were not independent contractors. (You can read more about the claims and download the lawsuit directly at my site here.)
July 25 roundup
- If you’re claiming benefits for “total and permanent” disability it’s probably best not to enter bodybuilding competitions [Boston Globe and more, firefighter Albert Arroyo] More: GruntDoc;
- From 1884 Montreal: actionable to snub a parishioner while taking collection in church? [Volokh]
- Follow the bouncing venue in lawsuits against Rick Frenkel and Cisco over Patent Troll Tracker blog [Texas Lawyer “Tex Parte” blog]
- Individual liberty was one reason Bill Gates was free to earn his billions, too bad he’s not doing more to advance it with his philanthropy [NYTimes, Bloomberg and “tobacco control”]
- Andrew Giuliani, son of the mayor, is suing Duke University for kicking him off its golf team [Newsday, Henican] More: complaint at Popehat;
- New at Point of Law: AAJ, formerly ATLA, has its convention in Philadelphia (more); bogeyman of supposedly ultraconservative Roberts Court; why must “trophy” federal courthouses have such soulless and uncomfortable design?; Congress gunning for arbitration; too bad NYT’s enthusiasm for transparent public contracting on corporate monitors doesn’t carry over to other lawyer-hiring; the Delaware advantage in court organization; as we keep asking, what happened to Ron Motley’s yacht? and much more;
- Dr. Anna Pou, New Orleans cancer surgeon whose prosecution after Katrina roused intense controversy, recounts her experience [AP via Folo]
- “Unreal world of greed”: California appeals court throws out $88 million fee-arbitration award to Milberg Weiss and other firms following challenge to “smog impact fees” [six years ago on Overlawyered]
July 15 roundup
- New York attorney suspended from practice after attempting as guardian to extract $853,000 payday from estate of Alzheimer’s victim [ABA Journal, Emani Taylor]
- Bought a BB gun to fend off squirrels, now his 20-year-old son faces three years for bare possession [MyCentralJersey.com via Zincavage]
- U.K.: “Sports clubs face being put out of business following a landmark court ruling forcing them to be liable for deliberate injuries caused by their player to an opponent.” [Telegraph]
- Prosecutors in Norwich, Ct. still haven’t dropped their case against teacher Julie Amero in malware-popup smut case. Why not? [TalkLeft, earlier]
- Dealership protection laws, deplored earlier in this space, work to make a GM bankruptcy both likelier and messier [The Deal]
- Strange new respect for talk show host Joe Scarborough in quarters where conservatives are ordinarily disliked? Some of us saw that coming [NYMag]
- Following Rhode Island rout of lawsuit against lead-paint makers, Columbus, Ohio drops its similar case [PoL, Akron Beacon Journal editorial]
- In latest furor over free speech and religious sensitivity in Europe, Dutch authorities have arrested cartoonist “suspected of sketching offensive drawings of Muslims and other minorities” [WSJ; “Gregorius Nekschot”]
Benched for Your Own Good
Is a coach liable for any injuries when he asks an injured athlete to return to the game? It’s the final scene of just about every hard-luck sports flick ever filmed.
In a recent article, Prof. Timothy Davis of Wake Forest Law observes that coach liability is a real risk in amateur and school athletics. “Coaches owe a duty of care to their students not to increase risks that are inherent in a sport.” Thus have coaches been held liable, from time to time, for their players’ injuries.
But what about in the wide world of professional sports? There’s not much precedent, but it should be possible:
The forgoing cases suggest that, where an athlete is injured as a consequence of a coach acting in a manner that is outside the realm of his or her expertise, potential liability based on recklessness might ensue. This is particularly the case where coaches have actual or constructive appreciation of the potential risks that might flow from their conduct. Such would be the case when a coach’s decision is contrary to medical advice. Similarly, a coach’s demand that an athlete return to play, given the coach’s absence of medical expertise, arguably provides evidence of recklessness, since it disregards an immediate and readily ascertainable risk, in contrast to an abstract possibility of risk.
Still, Davis lists a variety of bars to liability–worker’s comp, athletic “culture,” federal preemption, arbitration, etc.–and concludes that pro coaches don’t face great incentives to protect players’ health–at least, not yet.
The trial-bar-friendly New York Times has gone a bit overboard of late agitating about concussions in football. Davis, however, points to the league’s response as a model of how to make progress outside of the courtroom.
“Parents to Sue Maker of Metal Baseball Bats Over Son’s Injury”
“A New Jersey couple, whose son was struck in the chest with a line drive, is planning to sue the maker of a metal baseball bat used in the game.” The family of Steven Domalewski “contends metal baseball bats are inherently unsafe for youth games because the ball comes off them much faster than from wooden bats. The lawsuit will also be filed against Little League Baseball and a sporting goods chain that sold the bat.” (AP/FoxNews.com, May 18). Earlier: Apr. 19 and Dec. 30, 2002.
High school pitcher: team’s fault I overused my arm
Sports doctors say more youngsters are coming in with arm injuries from excessive hard pitching on the baseball field. In Washington state, Jason Koenig has lost his lawsuit claiming that North Mason High School was negligent in not overriding his wishes to stay in for all nine innings, 140 pitches, in a game in April 2001, resulting in injury to his arm. (Tom Wyrwich, “Former high school pitcher hopes rules are changed to protect young arms”, Seattle Times, Apr. 29).
Staggered sports schedules: and then came the bill
We’ve reported before (Dec. 24-27, 2001; May 7, 2005; parallel case in New York, Jul. 10, 2004) on the lawsuit charging Michigan high school sports directors with sex discrimination for scheduling girls’ sports in different seasons than boys’. Such cases are subject to “one-way” attorney fee shifting (plaintiffs collect if they win, but need not fear paying if they lose) and the rules for fee calculations are generous. Now the judge has approved a plaintiff’s fee that the athletic directors’ association say threatens to push their group into bankruptcy; opponents say it’s their own fault for resisting so long. Nearly $3 million in fees plus interest are set to go to Kristen Galles, a solo practitioner in Alexandria, Va., whose large number of billed hours at $390/hour may relate to her having worked without a paralegal or secretary. (Julie Mack, “Michigan High School Athletic Association owes $7.4 million in legal fees, interest to lawyers who won case to change the girls sports season”, Kalamazoo Gazette, Apr. 21)(via ABA Journal); “Athletic Group Ordered To Pay $7M”, AP/LexisOne, Apr. 2).