Seventh-Inning Stretch · Heads Up!
Empty Seats Behind the Net
Kavafian v. Seattle Baseball Club Ass'n (1919)
Charge: Negligence - latecomer struck by a foul ball after taking an unscreened grandstand seat (suit against the club)Court: Supreme Court of Washington (en banc)Docket: Heads Up!
Can a fan who sat in an unscreened seat when screened seats were available recover from the club for a foul-ball injury?
The facts
In Seattle in the 1910s, a man bought a grandstand ticket for a professional baseball game and arrived during the second inning. He took the first convenient seat he could reach, which was in an unscreened section, even though screened seats were also part of the grandstand. During the game a foul ball struck and injured him. He sued, claiming the club was negligent for not screening his seat. A jury found in his favour and a panel of the state supreme court upheld that verdict, but the club asked the full court to rehear the case.
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: Kavafian v. Seattle Baseball Club Ass'n, 105 Wash. 215, 177 P. 776, on rehearing, 181 P. 679 (1919)
Read more at courts.wa.gov. The source reveals the outcome.