Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entm't
Decision Date | 17 April 2008 |
Docket Number | No. 46191.,46191. |
Citation | 180 P.3d 1172 |
Parties | Kathleen TURNER and Michael Turner, Appellants, v. MANDALAY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT, LLC, d/b/a Las Vegas 51s, Respondent. |
Court | Nevada Supreme Court |
Sterling Law, LLC, and Beau Sterling, Las Vegas; Beckley Singleton, Chtd., and Daniel F. Polsenberg, Las Vegas; Cobeaga Law Firm and Christopher M. Young, Las Vegas, for Appellants.
Olson, Cannon, Gormley & Desruisseaux, and Thomas D. Dillard Jr. and Felicia Galati, Las Vegas, for Respondent.
BEFORE THE COURT EN BANC.
In this appeal, we address whether baseball stadium owners and operators have a duty to protect spectators against injuries caused by foul balls that are errantly projected into the stands. We conclude that stadium owners and operators have a limited duty to protect against such injuries and that respondent satisfied its duty as a matter of law under the facts presented in this case. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's judgment in respondent's favor.
At all times relevant to this appeal, respondent Mandalay Sports Entertainment, LLC, owned and operated the Las Vegas 51s, a minor league baseball team that plays its home games at Cashman Field in Clark County. From 2000 to 2002, appellants Kathleen and Michael Turner owned season tickets for home games played by the 51s.
Like most professional baseball teams, the 51s include a disclaimer on their tickets informing fans that the team is not responsible for injuries caused by foul balls.1 In addition, the public address announcer at Cashman Field warns the crowd about the danger of foul balls hit into the stands before each 51s home game. The 51s also post warning signs at every Cashman Field entry gate, cautioning fans to stay alert because of the risks posed by foul balls. The Turners acknowledge that they were aware of these warnings.
On May 4, 2002, while attending a 51s game at Cashman Field, Mr. and Mrs. Turner left their assigned seats and walked to the "Beer Garden," a concessions area located in the upper concourse level above the stands. The Beer Garden — which is several hundred feet from the playing field — contains tables and chairs where patrons can eat and drink but also has a railing where patrons can stand and continue to watch the game. Unlike other concession areas at Cashman Field, the Beer Garden has no protective screen surrounding it.2
While at the Beer Garden, Mr. Turner purchased a beverage for himself and a sandwich for his wife. Mr. Turner then stood at the railing so that he could continue to watch the game. Mrs. Turner, on the other hand, took her sandwich and sat at one of the available tables. According to Mrs. Turner, she was unable to see any part of the field from her table.
As Mrs. Turner sat in the Beer Garden, a foul ball struck her in the face. The force of the ball's impact rendered her unconscious, broke her nose, and lacerated her face. According to Mrs. Turner, she never saw the ball coming and had no opportunity to get out of the way.
The Turners subsequently filed a complaint in district court against the Las Vegas 51s, alleging three causes of action: negligence, loss of consortium, and negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED). While the negligence action pertained to Mrs. Turner's alleged injuries, the loss of consortium and NIED claims pertained to Mr. Turner's alleged injuries.
In response to the Turners' complaint, the 51s filed a motion for summary judgment, which the Turners opposed. After considering the parties' arguments, the district court granted the 51s' motion, concluding that the team "did not breach any duty of care to Plaintiffs to protect them from harm [and] ... even if there were any such duty, the [foul] ball [was] a known and obvious risk." This appeal followed.
On appeal, the Turners argue that their claims for negligence, loss of consortium, and NIED each present a genuine issue of material fact. We disagree.
Standard of review
This court reviews orders granting summary judgment de novo.3 Summary judgment is appropriate when the parties' pleadings and other evidence on file, viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, demonstrate that no genuine issue as to any material fact remains and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.4 "A factual dispute is genuine when the evidence is such that a rational trier of fact could return a verdict for the nonmoving party."5
Mrs. Turner's negligence claim
The district court concluded that Mrs. Turner's negligence claim failed because the Las Vegas 51s did not owe a duty to protect her from the foul ball in question. For the following reasons, we agree with the district court's conclusion.
A claim for negligence in Nevada requires that the plaintiff satisfy four elements: (1) an existing duty of care, (2) breach, (3) legal causation, and (4) damages.6 At issue in this case is whether the 51s owed a duty to protect Mrs. Turner from foul balls hit into the area where she was sitting. Although we have previously recognized that "a proprietor owes a general duty to use reasonable care to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition for use," we have never specifically defined the scope of that duty as it pertains, to baseball stadium owners and operators.7
In addressing this issue, at least. 12 jurisdictions have adopted the "limited duty rule," which places two important requirements on stadium owners and operators.8 First, the rule requires stadium owners and operators to provide a sufficient amount of protected seating for those spectators "who may be reasonably anticipated to desire protected seats on an ordinary occasion."9 Second, it requires stadium owners and operators to provide protection for all spectators located in the most dangerous parts of the stadium, that is, those areas that pose an unduly high risk of injury from foul balls (such as directly behind home plate).10
As explained by the Michigan Court of Appeals, "the limited duty rule ... identifies the duty of baseball stadium proprietors with greater specificity than the usual ... standard provides."11 In this sense, the limited duty rule does not eliminate the stadium owner's duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances to protect patrons against injury; rather, it defines that duty in detail.12
By defining the duty of a baseball stadium owner or operator with specificity, the limited duty rule shields the stadium owner or operator from the need to take precautions that are clearly unreasonable while also establishing the outer limits of liability.13 Once a stadium owner or operator complies with the rule's requirements by providing sufficient protected seating, the owner or operator has satisfied the legal duty of protection owed to its patrons. Having met this obligation, the stadium owner or operator simply has no remaining duty to protect spectators from foul balls, which are a known, obvious, and unavoidable part of all baseball games.14 This specificity with regard to the duty imposed on the baseball stadium owner or operator serves the important purpose of limiting expensive and protracted litigation that "might signal the demise or substantial alteration of the game of baseball as a spectator sport."15
Recognizing the importance of establishing parameters around personal injury litigation stemming from professional baseball in Nevada, we take this opportunity to expressly adopt the limited duty rule. As stated above, the limited duty rule establishes the totality of the duty owed by baseball stadium owners and operators to protect spectators from foul halls within the confines of the stadium. Applying the rule to this case, we conclude that Mrs. Turner's negligence claim fails as a matter of law.
In this case, Mrs. Turner was injured while eating in the Beer Garden, a concessions area located several hundred feet from home plate on the top viewing level of Cashman Field. Because Mrs. Turner chose not to sit in a protected seating area, the relevant inquiry under the limited duty rule is whether the Beer Garden was one of the most dangerous areas of the ballpark or, more specifically, whether it posed "an unduly high risk of injury" from foul balls.16
Here, the record establishes that foul balls occasionally fly into the Beer Garden, some parts of which have an obstructed view of the field. The risk of an occasional foul ball, however, does not amount to "an unduly high risk of injury." Indeed, Mrs. Turner has conspicuously failed to demonstrate that any other spectator suffered injuries as a result of errant balls landing in the Beer Garden. Thus, we conclude that she failed to establish a genuine issue of material fact as to the 51s' negligence, and the 51s were entitled to judgment as a matter of law.17
Clarification of Mizushima v. Sunset Ranch and the implied assumption of risk doctrine
Separately, since the limited duty rule is logically related to the broader doctrine of primary implied assumption of risk,18 we take this opportunity to clarify certain strained language from this court's decision in Mizushima v. Sunset Ranch.19 In Mizushima, the court addressed the viability of the assumption of risk doctrine as a defense to negligence actions in Nevada. According to the court, although express assumption of risk remained a viable defense (in part because it stemmed from a contractual undertaking expressly relieving the potential defendant from liability), the implied assumption of risk doctrine failed to survive the enactment of Nevada's comparative negligence statute.20 Because this conclusion was based on an incorrect understanding of primary implied assumption of risk, however, we now readdress the issue.
The implied assumption of risk doctrine generally is divided into two subcategories: "primary" and "secondary."21 Of these subcategories, only "primary" implied assumption of risk is at issue...
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