Facts
- Jerome Bourque, Jr. played second base in a softball game; Adrien Duplechin was a runner on the opposing team.
- During a double-play attempt, Bourque tagged second base and stepped several feet toward the pitcher’s mound to throw to first.
- League rules and customary play required a runner advancing to second to slide or otherwise avoid unsafe contact.
- Duplechin remained upright and, after Bourque released the throw, ran at full speed into Bourque several feet from second base and outside the normal base path.
- Witnesses testified Duplechin did not slow, slide, or attempt to avoid contact and raised an arm under Bourque’s chin at impact.
- Bourque sustained serious facial injuries, including a fractured jaw and multiple broken teeth; Duplechin was ejected.
- Bourque sued Duplechin for negligence and Allstate Insurance Company as Duplechin’s liability insurer; defendants asserted assumption of risk, contributory negligence, and an “intended or expected injury” policy exclusion.
Issues
- Whether Duplechin’s off-base, full-speed collision with Bourque constituted actionable negligence during a softball game.
- Whether Bourque’s participation in softball and his position in the play established assumption of risk or contributory negligence barring recovery.
- Whether a liability policy exclusion for bodily injury “intended or expected” by the insured barred coverage where the insured intentionally made contact to disrupt a play.
Decision
- The court affirmed the judgment for Bourque against Duplechin and Allstate.
- The court upheld the factual finding that the collision occurred several feet from second base and outside the base path.
- The court held Duplechin’s conduct exceeded ordinary game contact and constituted negligence.
- The court rejected assumption of risk because Bourque did not accept the risk of being charged while off the base and out of the normal line of play.
- The court rejected contributory negligence because Bourque’s movement from the bag to throw to first was consistent with ordinary play and he was in a reasonably safe position.
- The court held Allstate provided coverage because the record did not establish Duplechin intended or expected the specific bodily injuries that occurred, so the exclusion did not apply.
Legal Principles
- Participants in sports assume ordinary risks inherent in the game, but not risks created by conduct that materially departs from customary play and game rules, especially when the injured player is outside the usual zone of contact.
- A defendant may be liable in tort for sports-related conduct that constitutes an unreasonable risk of harm beyond expected incidental contact.
- For “intended or expected injury” exclusions, intent to perform a deliberate act is distinct from intent to cause the particular bodily injury; absent proof the insured intended or expected the specific harm, the exclusion may not bar coverage.
Conclusion
The court held that a runner’s deliberate, off-base charge into a fielder during a double-play attempt was negligent conduct outside the risks ordinarily accepted in softball, and it further held the liability insurer owed coverage because the evidence did not show the insured intended or expected the specific injuries inflicted.