2014 is not a year in which the New York Yankees have been known for making contact, but that is exactly what the plaintiff in Francis v. New York Yankees Partnership  alleges.  According to the plaintiff, while she was in the basement concourse of Yankee Stadium, she had to get out of the way of a golf cart heading toward her.  After dodging the golf cart, she allegedly tripped over some handlebars that protruding from the bottom of a batting screen.

The Supreme Court granted the Yankees’ motion for summary judgment, but earlier today, the First Department reversed. While acknowledging the Yankees’ argument that batting screens are not inherently dangerous, the court held that the issue was whether handlebars protruding from the bottom of a batting screen was a reasonably foreseeable tripping hazard.  Because that issue, and the issue of whether a golf cart constituted an intervening cause, presented questions of fact, the court held that the lower court erred in granting the Yankees’ motion.

The past two seasons have shown that golf carts and handlebars in a baseball stadium do not guarantee success on a field. Francis shows that they do not guarantee success in a court either.

Thanks to Mike Gauvin for his contribution to this post.  If you have any comments, please email Paul at