BlogLine

Undefeated Records: Good for Sports & Business

11/1/19

By: Brittany Kurtz

A contentious rivalry between divisional foes late in the season fueled a halftime bathroom brawl in December 2014 leading a Dallas Cowboys fan to file negligence claims against the Philadelphia Eagles organization and its security manager at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys fan alleged a group of Eagles fans repeatedly taunted him, going so far as to grab his star-emblazoned hat and tossing it into a urinal, ultimately ending in an altercation with the Cowboys fan on the ground and surrounded by a handful of attackers. These attackers were never found, but the Cowboys fan alleged his injuries were caused by the Eagles organization and its security manager for failing to provide reasonable security within the bathroom.
Most surprising was the Cowboys fan’s favorable jury verdict in a Philadelphia courtroom. The Philadelphia Eagles organization appealed to the Superior Court as it believed the Cowboys fan failed to meet his burden of proving a duty owed by the organization regarding the security measures in place and was entitled to Judgement N.O.V.
The Superior Court acknowledged the Philadelphia Eagles organization held its property open to the public for business purposes and would be subject to liability for negligent or intentional harmful acts of third persons which it must take reasonable precaution against that which might be reasonably anticipated. Generally, individuals are not liable for the criminal conduct of another absent a preexisting duty. However, the Eagles organization voluntarily undertook a duty to protect its business invitees, including Cowboys fans, from fighting during football games at Lincoln Financial Field. Therefore, the Eagles organization had a duty to protect its invitees against third party conduct when it had reason to anticipate such conduct.
The Superior Court determined the Eagles organization and its security management team as a matter of law did not have notice of violent assaults regularly occurring in its restrooms during games, therefore it was reasonable to not have a stationed security guard at the restrooms. The security logs only demonstrated the Eagles organization was on notice that there were persons who became incapacitated because of intoxication in the restrooms, not violence.
The Cowboys fan also alleged negligent operation of the security program in place as it is known that wearing opposing team apparel to an Eagles’ game is dangerous. However, the security team employs undercover guards wearing the opposing team’s gear in order to identify those members of the convocation of Eagles who harass fans of the opposing team to be addressed. Therefore, the Court determined the Cowboys fan failed to demonstrate the security program was conducted without reasonable care and that the Eagles organization should have reasonably anticipated violent assaults occur in the restrooms and should have been monitored by security. The Court vacated the judgment entered in favor of the Cowboys fan and remanded to the trial court for entry of judgment in favor Philadelphia Eagles organization and its security management team. Pearson v. Phila. Eagles, LLC, 2019 PA Super. 304 (October 11, 2019).
Record keeping played a critical role as the Superior Court relied heavily upon the security logs and documentation of the security team to determine whether the Philadelphia Eagles organization had notice of prior instances of violence occurring in its restrooms during games. Documentation provides objective evidence to the courts and juries which helps to provide them a clearer picture and, in this case, clearly showing a property owner’s lack of notice for third party violence towards its invitees in the restrooms.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Brittany Kurtz at bkurtz@fmglaw.com