Law 211: A Case Study Of Business Law
BROKAW v. WINFIELD MT UNION COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
BUSINESS LAW 211
A tort is a civil wrong or injury other than breach of contract. A court will provide a solution or action for damages. Sometimes an individual may commit what is considered an assault. A situation involved this athletic event where the tort occurred during the course of play before the whistle has blown. This behavior may result in a penalty and a suspension, but it is not compensable by means of the civil liability way. Sports such as football and basketball involve torts, and if it wasn’t lucky, it would be impossible to play the game. Therefore, everyone who participates in sport activities incur risks in the event. Some behaviors will fall outside the area of what is reasonably expected to rise as an assault and battery claim. That includes Behavior occurring after the whistle has blown that caused injury or behavior that is intentional/reckless that could not reasonably be expected to occur during the athletic event. So, there are similarities in the law between rough physical behavior and outrageous behavior that can be expected to occur during an athletic event. …show more content…
The case involved a varsity high-school basketball game in Iowa January 13, 2004.
One player Andrew McSorley, during the game unintentionally struck Jeremy Brokaw from the opposing team with his elbow which caused Jeremy to fall to the ground. The foul was a hard one and resulted in a technical being called and an ejection from the game. Over a year later the parents of the boy Jeremy Brokaw, who was fouled sued Andrew and his school for compensatory damages arising from the alleged assault and battery. The claim against the school was for negligent supervision there defense was the school knew that Andrew was an aggressive player and they failed to take steps to his aggressive behavior. The claim against Andrew and his parents was a standard assault and battery
claim.
With the issue being the school’s liability for the negligent supervision, the court pointed out Andrew had never shown signs of being physically assaultive. It was acknowledged that he played basketball intensely but no signs of aggressive behavior. Also there was no witness who testified that Andrew ever showed aggressive or assaultive behavior. The court ruled against Andrew and his parents on the assault and battery claim, awarding $23,000. After the basketball game where this occurred and before the lawsuit was filed Jeremy claimed injury at that basketball game occurred because he slipped and fell on ice and was hit by a baseball. They appealed but was unsuccessful there was no change in the trial court’s decision. The court’s opinion may have an affect on high school athletic events especially in Iowa. That is an opinion but could also be a true statement. The Tort liability for an unintentional act committed during the course of an athletic sporting event could have a everlasting affect. How are high school basketball players again, especially in Iowa, supposed to do to prevent this? The court’s opinion could potentially open the door to any injury that occurs during a game. This raises a question or concern actually and that is, will a school be held liable if a player that they know aggressively plays causes injury or unintentional injury, this was very interesting.
References
BROKAW v. WINFIELD MT UNION COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, No. 07-1328., September 10, 2010 - IA Supreme Court | FindLaw. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ia-supreme-court/1538069.html
BUSINESS LAW 211
A tort is a civil wrong or injury other than breach of contract. A court will provide a solution or action for damages. Sometimes an individual may commit what is considered an assault. A situation involved this athletic event where the tort occurred during the course of play before the whistle has blown. This behavior may result in a penalty and a suspension, but it is not compensable by means of the civil liability way. Sports such as football and basketball involve torts, and if it wasn’t lucky, it would be impossible to play the game. Therefore, everyone who participates in sport activities incur risks in the event. Some behaviors will fall outside the area of what is reasonably expected to rise as an assault and battery claim. That includes Behavior occurring after the whistle has blown that caused injury or behavior that is intentional/reckless that could not reasonably be expected to occur during the athletic event. So, there are similarities in the law between rough physical behavior and outrageous behavior that can be expected to occur during an athletic event. …show more content…
The case involved a varsity high-school basketball game in Iowa January 13, 2004.
One player Andrew McSorley, during the game unintentionally struck Jeremy Brokaw from the opposing team with his elbow which caused Jeremy to fall to the ground. The foul was a hard one and resulted in a technical being called and an ejection from the game. Over a year later the parents of the boy Jeremy Brokaw, who was fouled sued Andrew and his school for compensatory damages arising from the alleged assault and battery. The claim against the school was for negligent supervision there defense was the school knew that Andrew was an aggressive player and they failed to take steps to his aggressive behavior. The claim against Andrew and his parents was a standard assault and battery
claim.
With the issue being the school’s liability for the negligent supervision, the court pointed out Andrew had never shown signs of being physically assaultive. It was acknowledged that he played basketball intensely but no signs of aggressive behavior. Also there was no witness who testified that Andrew ever showed aggressive or assaultive behavior. The court ruled against Andrew and his parents on the assault and battery claim, awarding $23,000. After the basketball game where this occurred and before the lawsuit was filed Jeremy claimed injury at that basketball game occurred because he slipped and fell on ice and was hit by a baseball. They appealed but was unsuccessful there was no change in the trial court’s decision. The court’s opinion may have an affect on high school athletic events especially in Iowa. That is an opinion but could also be a true statement. The Tort liability for an unintentional act committed during the course of an athletic sporting event could have a everlasting affect. How are high school basketball players again, especially in Iowa, supposed to do to prevent this? The court’s opinion could potentially open the door to any injury that occurs during a game. This raises a question or concern actually and that is, will a school be held liable if a player that they know aggressively plays causes injury or unintentional injury, this was very interesting.
References
BROKAW v. WINFIELD MT UNION COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, No. 07-1328., September 10, 2010 - IA Supreme Court | FindLaw. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ia-supreme-court/1538069.html