The legal team representing the Los Angeles Dodgers in an upcoming lawsuit wants a judge to ban reporting of the parking lot attack that seriously injured a San Francisco Giants fan 13 years ago.
Bryan Stow, then 42, was attacked by two fans on March 31, 2011 in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the season opener between the Dodgers and Giants, which Stow supports. He suffered serious injuries that left him in a medically induced coma. According to court documents, attorneys argue that mentioning the Stow case would harm the team.
In that case, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Stow $18 million in damageswith 75% of the liability attributed to the men who attacked him, and the remaining 25% to the team. None of the liability fell on then-Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
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The upcoming trial involves the team and a man who claims he was beaten by the team’s security forces in 2021. Plaintiffs Salvador and Priscilla Mota say they attended a game on August 17, 2021, when the Boys in Blue hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. .
The couple says they were heading to one of the stadium’s parking lots when members of the security team told him to get out of his car, the lawsuit said.
“Priscilla watched in horror as sworn and unsworn security guards attacked her husband without reason or provocation,” the lawsuit said. It was filed in April 2022.
The lawsuit then alleges that Mota was handcuffed before being taken to a hospital due to serious injuries to his face, eye, shoulder and leg. The charges include assault, battery, false imprisonment, emotional distress and civil rights violations.
Lawyers for the Dodgers argue that the two incidents are completely unrelated and that safety procedures under current ownership are different than those in 2011.
“Nothing in the Bryan Stow incident would establish that the Los Angeles Dodgers or any defendant is liable for the plaintiffs’ claims in this case,” according to court papers filed Friday by the team’s attorneys. “Moreover, the jury’s verdict in this case is both irrelevant and substantially more prejudicial than evidence.”
The hearing is scheduled for January 10.
KCAL News has not yet heard back from the Dodgers upon request for comment on the matter.
