Bryan Stow Lawsuit: Family Blames Dodgers for Brutal Beating
The Bryan Stow lawsuit seemed inevitable. After it was revealed that the Los Angeles Dodgers had reduced security for the home opener that Bryan Stow was beaten after, a lawsuit against the team was almost a foregone conclusion.
On Tuesday, the Bryan Stow lawsuit became a reality. The Giants fan's family sued the Dodgers, naming owner Frank McCourt's "lavish lifestyle" and his messy divorce as reasons for why Dodgers Stadium was unable to provide adequate security detail on the night of Stow's beating.
Bryan Stow, 42, was brutally beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day. The Stow family alleges that the Dodgers' actions and inactions exposed "Stow to criminal acts of third parties."
The Stow lawsuit comes two days after Los Angeles police arrested Giovanni Ramirez, 31, on suspicion of beating Stow.
"Despite being the home-opener against the rival Giants, no security was present in the parking lot or by the areas where taxis were waiting. Moreover, the parking lot had inadequate lighting. The lack of security and inadequate lighting presented a perfect opportunity to commit a variety of crimes," the lawsuit alleges.
Stow and five friends wearing Giants apparel were harassed before, during and after the Opening Day game between the two rival teams March 31, with Dodgers fans tossing peanuts and hot dogs at them, but security guards who witnessed the taunting did nothing, the lawsuit says.
The game ended at 7:50 p.m., and Stow and his friends headed to the parking lot to get a taxi. Stow, 42, was worried enough that he sent a text message to a family member about the "intimidating scene," the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The Dodgers have declined to respond about the Stow lawsuit. In a statement released Sunday, McCourt said, "The Dodgers are committed to providing our fans the safest sports venue in the United States."
The negligence suit seeks to link the beating to the well-publicized travails of McCourt. McCourt is fighting Major League Baseball's naming of an overseer for his team while facing revelations - made public in a messy divorce case - that he and his wife spent millions of the team's money funding lavish lifestyles.
"Although everybody is hopeful that this turns out well, facing the cold hard facts, we know that this is going to have a lifetime impact on Mr. Stow," Stow family attorney Thomas Girardi told ESPNLA.com. "Not to mention his two children, who have been robbed of their relationship with him."
The Bryan Stow lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the team and more than a dozen related entities. It seeks unspecified damages for Stow, who remains unconscious at San Francisco General Hospital with a traumatic brain injury, as well as his 12-year-old son, Tyler, and daughter Tabitha, 8.
Related Resources:
- Giovanni Ramirez Arrested in Bryan Stow Beating (SF Weekly)
- Tip led police to suspect in Dodger Stadium beating (Los Angeles Times)
- Bonds Guilty of Obstruction of Justice (New York Times)
- Barry Bonds Girlfriend Spares No Detail: Testicle Shrinkage (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)
- Barry Bonds Perjury: Lying Under Oath is a Crime (FindLaw Blotter)