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Mountain West denies fault in scuffle after UNLV game
Fans claim inadequate security at Thomas & Mack partly to blame
Monday, July 27, 2009 | 1:32 p.m.
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The Mountain West Conference is denying it's responsible for injuries two basketball fans claim to have suffered during scuffles after the 2008 men's championship game at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.
The conference is the first defendant to respond to a May lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court by Utah County, Utah, residents Brett Walkenhorst and Chad Walkenhorst.
The Walkenhorsts sued the MWC, UNLV and the Thomas & Mack Center, charging they were hurt because of inadequate security and fan supervision on March 15, 2008, when UNLV won the conference tournament by defeating regular-season champion BYU 76-61.
After time ran out, many UNLV fans rushed to the floor while disappointed Cougars fans headed for the exits.
"As plaintiffs tried to protect their family from the crowd of people, plaintiff Brett Walkenhorst was subsequently hit in the face and knocked to the ground. Plaintiff Chad Walkenhorst was hit in the head," the Walkenhorsts' suit alleges.
The MWC, in its response, seeks a jury trial on the lawsuit.
The request for a jury trial could raise interesting issues about a potential home-court advantage. Potential Las Vegas jurors may face questions as to their loyalty to UNLV and the Rebels.
In legal language typical in personal injury cases, the MWC denies liability and suggests the plaintiffs are at least partly at fault.
"Plaintiffs failed to exercise ordinary care, caution or prudence for the protection of their own safety and the injuries and damages sustained by plaintiffs, if any, were directly and proximately caused or contributed to by the fault, failure to act, carelessness and negligence of plaintiffs,'' said the MWC response, filed by attorneys Walter Cannon and Katherine Gordon of the Las Vegas law firm Olson, Cannon Gormley & Desruisseaux.
The conference also says the damages suffered by the plaintiffs, if any, were caused by third parties not associated with the conference and "the violent misconduct and intentional actions'' of such third parties.
The conference also says it was not responsible for hiring, training and supervising security personnel at the Thomas & Mack.
UNLV and the Thomas & Mack have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Discussion: 13 comments so far…
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Send the whole thing up here to Reno. We will fill the jury with unbias jurors who think/hate Nevada Southern & it's fans and since Uncle Jimmy (R)Dogers got more money for NSU, let's see if we can dole it out to BYU Fans because aren't they suppose to be the best fans? It must suck to be a NSU Fan these days.... GO PACK!
What a tool!!!
Haha ... ironic a Reno fan would defend the state of Utah considering a state college spanked you pretty hard last year ... you know ... Utah State.
Even more amazing is the fact that our paper is more appealing than the one they pass out up in Reno to warrant such a heartfelt response.
Too bad the only thing coming from Reno this year is (hopefully) our cannon. Face it - if our pathetic excuse for a football team defeats you this year - all of you Wolfpack fans should drown yourselves in that lake you have.
Betcha any money the Mormon plaintiffs were getting under the skin of the locals. I've lived in Utah long enough to know . . . Maybe they got what was coming to them . . .
Wolfcub,
You must be blast from the past, pull your head from the past. It's been quite a while since it was called NSU. He must not have heard that UNLV won a championship a while back nor realize that it DOESNT SUCK to be a fan here.
Funny, isnt the WAC coming to Vegas to play their conference tourney? What happened to Reno hosting? Guess we'll see you in Vegas Nov 18th, eh?
hey rebelfever to be to happy about us coming to vegas for our tourny u have to wait two years for that and good luck getting the cannon back too haha
Anyone care to guess where Cory M. Jones, the clown that represents these the Plaintiffs who are filing this frivolous lawsuit, went to law school?
You guessed it....The J. Reuben Clark, School of Law at BYU.
the UNR fas are just trollin.
i go to some UNR games at LEC and believe me they will never have this problem because they dont get enough fans. They could only fill LEC about .5 of the way full for a title WAC TITLE GAME!
LOL
most of the fans were from USU.
I was wearing my rebel red supporting the good guys!
One of the MWC's Law Firm's top attorneys, Peter Angulo, is also a graduate of the J. Reuben Clark, School of Law at BYU....so what does that mean?
marysmith it appears as if you are the clown. What is your juvenile point here? All of you reb fans are are so conspiracy paranoid you seem to forget UNLV is still the laughing stock of the NCAA along with the head cheater and nit wit Tark.
The Fremont Cannon will again belong to The University of Nevada Wolf Pack.
Chris Ault will again out coach Mike Sanford up in Reno this year
Note to All Wolf (Su)ck Fans: Clark County just signed a long term deal with Glade Air Fresheners to keep the stink of Reno and its anemic UNR fan base from filtering down to us. We may still share the state, but thankfully, not the stench.
Flippin' hack Reno fans. Although Kapernicus may bamboozle Sanford again, it is fact UNR is a second-rate institution in this state.
Don't throw rocks at the throne peasants.