Facts
- Mandalay Sports Entertainment, LLC owned and operated the Las Vegas 51s minor league baseball team at Cashman Field in Clark County, Nevada.
- Kathleen and Michael Turner were season-ticket holders from 2000 to 2002.
- Tickets stated the holder assumed dangers incidental to the game, including injury from thrown or batted balls; the stadium also gave pregame public-address warnings and posted gate signs warning spectators to stay alert for foul balls.
- On May 4, 2002, the Turners went to the “Beer Garden,” a concession area on an upper concourse with tables, chairs, and a railing; it was several hundred feet from the field and had no protective screen.
- Michael Turner stood at the railing watching the game; Kathleen Turner sat at a table to eat and testified she could not see the field from where she sat.
- A foul ball entered the Beer Garden and struck Kathleen Turner in the face, causing loss of consciousness, a broken nose, and facial lacerations; she testified she did not see the ball and had no opportunity to avoid it.
- Other areas at the stadium (the “Party Zone” and “Club Level Restaurant”) were protected from stray balls by screening or an enclosure.
Issues
- Whether a baseball stadium owner/operator owes a duty under Nevada negligence and premises-liability law to protect spectators from injuries caused by foul balls.
- If a duty exists, whether the duty is limited (e.g., to providing screened seating and warnings) or extends to screening additional stadium areas such as concession locations.
- Whether, on undisputed facts, Mandalay breached any duty to Kathleen Turner by not screening the Beer Garden or providing additional protections or warnings.
Decision
- The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for Mandalay on negligence, loss of consortium, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
- The court held stadium owners and operators owe a limited duty to protect spectators from foul-ball injuries.
- The court concluded Mandalay satisfied that limited duty as a matter of law, so no triable issue of breach existed.
Legal Principles
- Nevada negligence and premises-liability principles govern spectator-injury claims; duty is defined by foreseeability and policy, not by an obligation to eliminate all risk.
- The risk of being struck by a foul ball is a known and obvious danger inherent in attending a baseball game; this informs the scope of the duty owed.
- A stadium operator’s duty regarding foul balls is limited and can be satisfied by providing adequately screened seating where risk is greatest and by giving reasonable warnings; the operator is not required to screen every seat or area in the facility.
- Where material facts are undisputed and reasonable factfinders could not differ on the absence of breach under the limited-duty standard, summary judgment is proper.
Conclusion
The court recognized a limited duty for baseball stadium operators concerning foul balls and held that providing screened seating options and prominent warnings satisfied that duty as a matter of law, warranting judgment for the operator despite an injury in an unscreened concession area.