Design Flaw Dooms Assumption of Risk Defense in Baseball Case

A New York state trial court has denied summary judgment to an indoor baseball facility, which unsuccessfully argued that a baseball player who injured himself while taking batting practice at the facility had assumed the risk.   Specifically, the court noted that the plaintiff did not have knowledge of an “injury-causing defect” or an “appreciation of the resultant risk.”   The incident occurred on September 23, 1999, when 14-year-old plaintiff John Demelio visited a recreatio