|
Winter 2000
Volume 2, Issue 3
Cureton v. NCAA
Stanley v. University of Southern California
Hayden v. University of Notre Dame
Charpentier v. Los Angeles Rams Football Co. Inc.
Johnny Blastoff Inc. v. Los Angeles Rams Football Co.
Cardtoons v. Major League Baseball Players Association
Davis v. Monroe Board of Education
Washington v. IHSAA
Hayden v. University of Notre Dame,
1999 WL 76115 (Ct. App. IN, September 28, 1999)
NOTRE DAME LIABLE FOR INJURY TO FOOTBALL FAN
On September 16, 1995, William and Letitia Hayden attended a football game on the Notre Dame campus.
They were both season ticket holders and sat in their assigned seats behind the south end zone near
the goalpost. During the second quarter, one of the teams attempted a field goal. The net behind the
uprights failed to catch the ball and it sailed into the stands. The ball landed near the Haydens'
seats. In a mass scramble to recover the football, Letitia Hayden was knocked down, causing her to
injure her shoulder.
The Haydens claimed that Notre Dame failed to exercise due care to protect Letitia. Notre Dame moved
for summary judgment claiming that it did not have a legal duty to protect her from intentional
criminal acts committed by a third party. The trial court agreed and granted the university's
motion.
On appeal, the Indiana Court of Appeals considered whether Notre Dame owed Letitia a duty under the
circumstances. The Haydens argued that a duty existed because of Letitia's status as an invitee.
Notre Dame did not dispute that Letitia was an invitee, but argued that it did not owe her a duty as
an invitee to protect her from the criminal acts of a third party. The appellate court held that the
test for determining when a landowner's duty to its invitees extends to protecting them against the
criminal acts of third parties is a "totality of the circumstances" test. This test "requires
landowners to take reasonable precautions to prevent foreseeable criminal activity against invitees."
A court must look at all of the surrounding circumstances, including the nature, condition, and
location of the land as well as prior similar incidents. However, the lack of any prior specific
incidents of wrongdoing does not preclude a finding that the landowner should have known that such
acts were foreseeable.
The court found that there were many similar prior incidents of fan misconduct. For example, Letitia
was knocked off her seat earlier in the game as a natural result of the enthusiasm of other football
fans. Applying the totality of the circumstances in this case, the appellate court held that Notre
Dame should have foreseen that injury would likely result from the actions of third parties in
lunging for the football after it landed in the seating area. Because the university owed a duty to
Letitia, the trial court's summary judgment ruling was reversed.
Top of Page
You Make the Call. . . Index
"You Make The Call..." is a newsletter published four times per year (spring,
summer, fall, winter) by the National Sports Law Institute of Marquette University Law
School, PO Box 1881, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201-1881. (414) 288-5815, fax (414) 288-5818,
munsli@vms.csd.mu.edu. (www.marquette.edu/law/sports/call.html).
This publication is distributed via fax and email to individuals in the sports field upon
request.
|
Editorial Staff:
Paul M. Anderson, Editor & Designer
Kirsten Hauser, Associate Editor
|
Copyright © 1999 -- All rights reserved.
|
