Take Me Out to the Courthouse · Foul Territory
Behind the Short Fence
Akins v. Glens Falls City School District (1981)
Charge: Negligence - inadequate screening at a ballfield (suit against the school district that owned the field)Court: New York Court of AppealsDocket: Foul Territory
Did the field owner breach its duty by not screening the area where she stood?
The facts
An adult spectator went to watch a high school baseball game at a field owned by the local school district. Behind home plate there was a tall backstop screen and bleachers, but she chose to stand behind a three-foot chain-link fence along the third-base line, about 60 feet from home plate. Minutes after she arrived, a sharply hit foul ball struck her in the eye and caused permanent injury. A jury awarded her $100,000, finding the district mostly at fault.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Akins v. Glens Falls City School District, 53 N.Y.2d 325 (1981)
Read more at courses.lumenlearning.com. The source reveals the outcome.