Don’t ‘Assume’ Anything: Avoiding and Defending Negligence Actions When Spectators Harm Spectators

By Carla Varriale Venue owners and operators are often armed with defenses, such as assumption of the risk, in negligence actions that are brought by spectators who are injured by errant baseballs and flying pucks. Spectators, however, may not consent to reckless or intentional conduct by other spectators. When spectators injure other spectators under these circumstances, the exculpatory language set forth on the spectator’s ticket may be void and against public policy. In order to assess (and