Take Me Out To The Courtroom
Jul 1st, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Tort Reform |
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For years, Northwestern University allowed youth baseball leagues in the community to use its fields for games. No more. Parents of a young baseball pitcher recently threatened a lawsuit against Northwestern because the sun was shining in his eyes. As a Northwestern official wrote in explaining the school’s decision:
Unfortunately, Northwestern University is not able to do anything to mitigate the sun’s effect on the vision of the pitcher, so we have made the unfortunate decision that we can no longer safely hold these games.
[…] Parents of a young pitcher at an American Legion baseball game were worried that the way the sun shone right toward the pitcher’s mound could hurt their son’s eyes. The next thing you know they were talking about a future lawsuit and the risk managers swung into action. The upshot is that Northwestern University, owner of Rocky Miller Park in Evanston, have told the teams that they can no longer play their home games at the park. Head coach Frank Consiglio said, “When it comes to the sun, you could say that about any ballpark in the country at any time. … It’s unfortunate that one person can ruin this.” (Dennis Mahoney, “Lawsuit threat forces NU to ban evening Legion games”, Pioneer Local, Jun. 26 via Chronicle of Higher Education and Pero) […]
Nice, insightful, low-key analysis, Mr. Pero.
How is this relevant to tort reform? There was no case filed in court by anyone, which I thought was your goal for every claim of any type. (Except maybe when Mattel sues for Barbie infringement or Robert Bork sues the Yale Club for a fall).
Threatening legal action is a bluff older than the invention of poker, and I am sure even the nobles of corporate America have threatened lawsuit while holding the legal equivalent of a pair of deuces. Success under such circumstances is, I am sure, described as wily and clever business practice.
If Northwestern called someone’s bluff on a stupid claim, and told them to take their balls and bats and go home, good for them. (Though your quote from the University folks does say: “…we have made the unfortunate decision that we can no longer safely hold these games.” They probably meant they couldn’t hold them safe from legal action, right?)
I know you don’t think much of the right to trial by jury in civil cases (a cost of business difficult to control), but if your object is to tort reform society to the point that people can’t write letters, I think you will not be content until you invalidate a substantial portion of the Bill of Rights as well. That worries me more than where the American Legion is going to play its next home game.
Dan, where does the AJP come in on the Andrew Giuliani suit against Duke for his dismissal from the golf team. Makes your blog article on the Northwestern baseball issue look like chopped liver. Read more here:
http://www.attorneybutler.net/2008/08/rudy-giulianis.html