Archive for November, 2009

Matter of Abato v County of Nassau

Plaintiff brought about this action against the County of Nassau as the owner and operator of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Long Island Industrial Hockey League, Inc. to recover damages for personal injuries sustained at an ice hockey game. Plaintiff was knocked to the floor by other spectators trying to catch a souvenir T-shirt that was launched into the stands from the ice.

Defendants appealed from an order of the Supreme Court which denied their motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims. In order to obtain summary judgment defendants needed to establish their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. They failed to prove that the acts which allegedly caused plaintiff’s injuries were not foreseeable. The commotion following the launching of the T-shirt was a natural response of the spectators as a reaction to the action of the defendants and not an unprompted act of another spectator.

Defendants’ primary assumption was the risk defense as a matter of law. They argued that the acts that allegedly caused the plaintiff’s injuries were foreseeable consequences of attending the hockey game. Again, the defendants failed to prove their point and thus triable issues of fact remain.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the order, with costs.

Read more about this personal injury case.

For other interesting information in the personal injury file go to www.negligenceatty.com.