Seventh-Inning Stretch · Bush Leagues
The Bat That Slipped
Ratcliff v. San Diego Baseball Club of the Pacific Coast League (1938)
Charge: Negligence - fan hit by a bat that flew out of a batter's hands into a walkway (suit against the club)Court: California Court of AppealDocket: Bush Leagues
Should a club foresee that a bat could fly into a walkway fans must use, and protect them from it?
The facts
Before a Pacific Coast League game, a woman was walking along a grandstand passageway toward her seat in the screened section, about 80 feet from home plate. A bat slipped from a batter's hands, flew past the end of the protective screen and struck her. She sued the club for failing to protect the walkway that fans had to use to reach their seats.
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: Ratcliff v. San Diego Baseball Club of the Pacific Coast League, 27 Cal. App. 2d 733, 81 P.2d 625 (1938)
Read more at law.justia.com. The source reveals the outcome.