Court rules against 51s spectator hit by foul ball

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Friday, April 18, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Carson City — A foul ball will not go down in the books as a financial hit for the Las Vegas 51s thanks to a Nevada Supreme Court ruling that baseball team owners have only a limited duty to protect spectators.

In a 4-3 decision, the court rejected the appeal of Kathleen Turner, who in May 2002 was hit by a foul ball during a 51s game.

Turner was struck in the face and knocked unconscious, suffering a broken nose and cuts on her face. She and her husband, Michael, filed suit against then-51s owner Mandalay Sports Entertainment, alleging negligence, loss of consortium and emotional distress. The loss of consortium and emotional distress allegations pertained to her husband.

The Turners, who had season tickets at Cashman Field, left their assigned seats during a May 4, 2002, game to go to the Beer Garden, several hundred feet from the playing field. When she was struck by a foul ball, Turner was eating a sandwich at a table and could not see any part of the field.

The court, in the majority decision written by Justice Ron Parraguirre, said a proprietor has a general duty to take reasonable care to keep his premises safe. In the case of ballparks, the court said owners must provide sufficient protective seating and protections for spectators in the most dangerous parts of the stadium, such as behind home plate.

Installing such protections limits liability claims, the court said. A stadium operator “simply has no remaining duty to protect spectators from foul balls, which are a known, obvious and unavoidable part of all baseball games,” the court’s decision said.

Chief Justice Mark Gibbons, who wrote the dissent, concluded that “the 51s had a general duty to protect Mrs. Turner from injury in the Beer Garden. Whether the 51s breached that duty by failing to provide a protective screen or barrier is a question of fact for the jury.”

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A former state Democratic Party chairman has been appointed to the state Ethics Commission by the Legislative Commission.

Paul Lamboley, a Reno lawyer, was named Wednesday to succeed Caren Jenkins of Carson City. Jenkins resigned to run for district judge.

Lamboley served on the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, D.C., from 1984 to 1990. After his term expired, he returned to Reno to resume his private law practice.

In addition to being a former state party chairman, Lamboley is a former chairman of the Washoe County Democratic Party.