A Los Angeles Superior Court has ordered the Los Angeles Dodgers to pay $100,000 in punitive damages to a fan, who was beaten by a security guard. It also ordered the guard, Erik Pena, to pay $5,000 in punitive damages to the fan, Francisco Rodriguez.
Meanwhile, the punitive damages phase of the trial was triggered when the jury, while deciding Rodriguez’s compensatory damages, concluded that Pena acted with malice, fraud or oppression.
Originally, the panel awarded Rodriguez $131,780 in punitive damages. However, that amount was reduced in light of an additional jury finding that Rodriguez was partially liable.
The incident in question occurred on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 29, 2018.
Rodriguez claimed that he was ejected after he complained about how security had handled another fan during the contest in which the Dodgers faced the San Francisco Giants.
Rodriguez claimed that as he was being escorted to the exit that Pena battered him, including jabbing him in his ribs with a baton and repeatedly punching him with closed fists.
Rodriguez initially faced criminal charges, which the city had pursued against him. Specifically, he was accused of hitting a security officer in the face during the altercation. But that trail ended with a hung jury and the city attorney’s office opted to dismiss the case.
Oner source told Sports Litigation Alert that the case is unique because the Pena, an off-duty officer, denied putting his knee on the plaintiff’s neck. However, in the videos produced in the case the plaintiff could clearly be heard screaming “I can’t breathe.” The officers testified they never heard that, but the video was very clear, and he said that 4 to 5 times.
This impacted the decision to award punitive damages.
