Hills v. Bridgeview Little League Ass'n

• Decision Date: 16 November 2000
• Docket Number: No. 87910., No. 87895
• Citation: 745 N.E.2d 1166,195 Ill.2d 210,253 Ill.Dec. 632
• Parties: John HILLS et al., Appellees, v. BRIDGEVIEW LITTLE LEAGUE ASSOCIATION et al., Appellants.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

745 N.E.2d 1166

195 Ill.2d 210

253 Ill.Dec. 632

John HILLS et al., Appellees, v. BRIDGEVIEW LITTLE LEAGUE ASSOCIATION et al., Appellants.

Nos. 87895, 87910.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

November 16, 2000.

Rehearing Denied April 2, 2001.

Michael Resis and James W. Fessler, of O'Hagan, Smith & Amundsen, LLC, Chicago for appellant Bridgeview Little League Association.

Thomas J. O'Brien, John e. Rodewald and Mark G. Sheridan, of Meckler, Bulger & Tilson, Chicago, for appellant Justice Willow Springs Little League.

James H. Wolf and James M. Wolf, of Wolf & Tennant, Chicago, for appellees.

Kilgallon & Carlson, Chicago (Michael B. Kilgallon, of counsel), for amicus curiae Little League, Inc.

Bruce R. Pfaff, Chicago, for amicus curiae Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

Justice McMORROW delivered the opinion of the court:

On July 30,1990, plaintiff John Hills was attacked and beaten while coaching first base for a Little League baseball team. His attackers, Ted Loy, George Loy, Sr., and George Loy, Jr., were, respectively, the manager and assistant coaches for the opposing team, which was sponsored by defendant Bridgeview Little League Association (Bridgeview). The attack occurred during a Little League baseball tournament hosted by defendant Justice Willow Springs Little League (Justice).

After the attack, John Hills and his wife, plaintiff Patricia Hills, sued the Loys in the circuit court of Cook County, seeking damages for John Hills' personal injuries and for Patricia Hills' loss of consortium. Plaintiffs also sued Bridgeview and Justice, alleging that Bridgeview negligently failed to supervise and control the Loys, and that Justice negligently failed to protect John Hills from the attack. The Loys defaulted.¹ A jury found against Bridgeview and Justice, apportioning fault pursuant to section 2-1117 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1117 (West 1994)) equally between the two. The trial judge did not permit the jury to include the Loys in the apportionment of fault. The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. 306 Ill.App.3d 13, 239 Ill.Dec. 85, 713 N.E.2d 616. We granted Bridgeview's and Justice's petitions for leave to appeal and consolidated the cases for review.

BACKGROUND

At trial, John Hills testified that, in the summer of 1990, he was the first base coach on an all-star Little League baseball team sponsored by the Lemont Little League Association. The players on the team were 14-year-olds. In July 1990, the Lemont team entered a Little League baseball tournament sponsored by Justice. To enter the tournament, the Lemont team payed a fee of $125 and posted a surety bond. The entrance fee was paid by the Lemont team's manager, Ray Chadorowski.

On July 30, 1990, as part of the regular tournament schedule, the Lemont team played a game against an all-star Little League team sponsored by Bridgeview. According to Hills, approximately 40 people were in attendance at the game. Hills stated that the Lemont and Bridgeview teams had played each other earlier in the tournament without incident and that, prior to July 30, he had never heard anything negative about the Bridgeview coaches or manager. Hills exchanged "hellos" in the parking lot with the manager of the Bridgeview team, Ted Loy, before the game began. As the teams took the field, Hills sensed no problems with anyone's behavior and had no indication that anything was out of the ordinary.

The playing field on which the July 30 game was held was one of two adjacent baseball fields located in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Willow Springs. The playing field was completely surrounded by a chain link fence approximately six feet high. Behind home plate, the fence rose higher, forming a protective backstop. Behind this backstop was an elevated booth or platform with a small public address system. An announcer sat in this booth during the game.

The areas where the teams sat during the games, the dugouts, were inside the fence that surrounded the field and were themselves protected by chain link fencing. The dugout on the first base side of the field had one opening that was approximately 10 feet from first base. During the game, the Bridgeview team occupied the first base dugout and the Lemont team occupied the dugout near third base. While their respective teams were batting, the first base coaches from each team stood in a designated area between first base and the Bridgeview dugout known as the coach's box and directed the players who safely reached first base to stop or to keep running. Bridgeview's first base coach was Ted Loy's nephew, 16-year-old George Loy, Jr.

Hills testified that, during the first inning, in an attempt to influence the first base umpire's calls, George Loy, Jr., began gesturing and yelling "safe, safe, safe" as the Bridgeview players crossed first base. The Lemont team called time-out. A conference was held among the home plate umpire, Scott Van Wagner, the first base umpire, Ed Jalovec, and the Bridgeview and Justice managers and coaches. During the conference, Van Wagner told the Bridgeview coaches to stop trying to influence the first base umpire's calls. Play resumed.

Hills testified that nothing unusual happened during the second inning. However, during the third or fourth inning, while Hills was in the coach's box at first base, Bridgeview assistant coach George Loy, Sr., began shouting at Hills from the Bridgeview dugout. According to Hills, George Loy, Sr., began yelling such things as "Hey you four eyed M-Fer, I'm going to kick your ass." Hills, who was facing the playing field, turned around and said, "What did you say?" Loy said, "You heard me," and began swearing again. Hills stated that he asked Loy, "For what?" Loy replied, "For what happened earlier in the first inning." Hills said, "You got to be kidding," and told Loy to "Forget about it, leave it go, it's only a kid's game, let it lie." Loy responded, "No way, I'm coming after you." According to Hills, Loy repeated similar statements at least four or five times during the third and fourth innings. Prior to the fifth inning, Hills told Ray Chadorowski and Harry Keeler, Lemont's third base coach, that George Loy, Sr., was yelling and swearing at him. Keeler asked Hills if he wanted to continue coaching first base. Hills said that he did.

During the fifth inning, George Loy, Sr., again swore at Hills. Hills ignored Loy and did not turn around. During the sixth inning, Hills' team scored several runs and took the lead in the game. Loy continued swearing, but he was now angrier and his voice was louder. Hills stated that, during this time, anyone who was in the Bridgeview dugout would have heard the swearing and shouting. Hills also stated that the first base umpire, who was standing in the field between first and second base, would have been able to hear the swearing. Hills stated that neither the first base umpire nor the Bridgeview manager, Ted Loy, told George Loy, Sr., to stop yelling and swearing. Hills acknowledged, however, that he never complained to Ted Loy, the first base umpire, or the home plate umpire about George Sr.'s behavior. Hills further stated that, despite the shouting and swearing, he was not nervous, he never thought that George Loy, Sr., was going to come out of the dugout and attack him, and that he "didn't really feel threatened at all."

At the end of the sixth inning, Hills bent down to pick up a scorebook that he had set on the ground near first base. Hills testified that, while he was bent over, he was suddenly hit in the back of the head and knocked to the ground on his hands and knees. Unable to see his attackers, Hills was then punched in the face and hit several times in the side and back. Hills struggled to get up and was again hit in the face and side. As Hills got to his feet, he was punched again. Hills stated that, at this point, he saw both George Loy, Sr., and George Loy, Jr., attacking him. George Loy, Jr., then dug his thumb into Hills' eye and tried to rip it out. After Hills was punched again in the body and face, there was a "lull" in the attack.

Hills testified that, during the "lull," he staggered in the direction of the fence that surrounded the playing field. He then saw George Loy, Sr., rushing toward him. Hills tried to protect himself but was unable to prevent Loy from punching him in the face and breaking his nose. George Loy, Sr., then punched Hills a couple more times. After this, there was another "lull" in the attack.

Hills stated that he was in a daze and was feeling his broken nose when he heard someone yell, "Oh, my God, look out, he's got a bat." Hills then saw, out of the corner of his eye, George Loy, Jr., swinging a baseball bat at his knees. Hills said that he was able to sidestep the blow so that the bat struck him on the inner side of the left knee. Hills then fell to the ground. Hills stated that the next thing he remembered was John O'Neill, a parent of one of the Lemont players, telling him to stay down and not to move. Hills could not recall being taken to the hospital or being treated in the emergency room. As a result of the attack, Hills suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized for five days.

Patricia Hills, John Hills' wife, testified that she attended the game between Bridgeview and Lemont with her nephew, Michael Putrow, and her mother, Clare Masterson. Patricia sat in the bleachers near the Lemont team, on the third base side of the playing field. Patricia estimated that approximately 20 people were seated in the Lemont bleachers. Patricia testified that the Lemont team had participated in a tournament sponsored by Justice in 1989 without incident. Patricia further stated that, prior to the game on July 30, 1990, she had not heard anything negative about the Bridgeview manager or coaches and that she had never seen a physical fight between coaches at a Little League baseball game.

According to Patricia, nothing unusual...