N.J. hockey case could redefine spectator liability

Denise M. Sciarrotta was thrilled with the seats her family had for the minor league hockey game. They were close to the action as they watched players take practice shots.

It was going to be a special night: her 12-year-old daughter was going to sing the national anthem with her high school choir. Then a puck ricocheted off a goal post and slammed into Sciarrotta’s head. Blood poured from a gash above her left temple.

More than four years later, Sciarrotta said she bears a 21/2-inch scar and permanent brain damage from an incident she maintains could have been prevented with proper safeguards.

Her negligence lawsuit could become a landmark case, as the New Jersey Supreme Court has decided to consider if fans have the right to sue for injuries that happened during warmups. A ruling is not expected for about a year.

In New Jersey and many states, sports spectators take a chance when they enter an arena or stadium. States generally mandate that fans assume some risk when they go to a game, said Joe Capobianco, a New York lawyer not involved in the New Jersey case.

If New Jersey’s highest court allows the puck lawsuit to proceed, “It could be an expansion of liability for sports owners,” Capobianco said.

The state Supreme Court made it tougher for baseball clubs in fall 2005 when it sided with a baseball fan who was hit with a foul ball while on line to buy beer.

The added liability, however, was short-lived. Within months, the New Jersey Legislature passed a law barring spectators from suing club owners “for injury resulting from the inherent dangers and risks of observing professional baseball ….”

The bill was titled the “New Jersey Baseball Spectator Safety Act of 2005,” although it was the owners that got protection. It was signed into law early last year.

Sciarrotta’s case stems from her visit to the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton on Jan. 4, 2003 before a game featuring the Trenton Titans, now called the Trenton Devils. She was seated along the side of the rink, higher than the clear, plastic barrier that encircles the ice. The sides of hockey rinks are not protected by the netting that shields spectators behind the goals. The NHL and other leagues mandated the nets after an Ohio girl was killed by a puck in 2002.

Alleging negligence in allowing a dangerous condition and failing to provide proper safeguards, Sciarrotta sued the team, the ECHL, and the arena.

Superior Court Judge Paul Innes in Mercer County dismissed the suit, but it was revived in April by an appellate panel that relied heavily on the high court’s baseball ruling.

The baseball decision found that fans deserve greater protection in areas of the stadium, such as concession stands, where it is expected they would let their guard down.

In restoring Sciarrotta’s lawsuit, the appellate panel observed that the number of pucks used during warmups posed special dangers. “A spectator during warm-ups is not so readily able to provide for her own safety …and a greater portion of the stands than just the end zones and the corners become the areas of vulnerabilit,” the panel wrote

Without ruling on the merits, the panel said a jury should answer some questions, including whether there were adequate warnings about dangers inherent in pre-game activities.

“It’s physically impossible to watch every single one at that time,” said Sciarrotta, now 42, of Lawrenceville. “I never saw it coming toward me. I felt like I was shot in the head.”

The defendants appealed, and the state Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

The defense lawyer, Scott D. Samansky, believes the appellate ruling improperly departed from the reasoning in the baseball case. “It would seem, under that theory, nobody can be in the stands during warmups,” Samansky said.

His position got some reinforcement last month when a state appellate panel upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a baseball spectator who was hit in the shoulder by a ball thrown during warmups.

If the Supreme Court ultimately orders a trial in the Sciarrotta case, the defendants would maintain they took appropriate safety steps, Samansky said.

As for the baseball case, although the state Supreme Court gave the green light, it never went to a jury. Louis Maisonave, who was hit by a ball at a 1999 Newark Bears game, settled on the eve of trial. Terms were confidential.

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