Dodger Stadium. Photo by John Schreiber.
An attorney for a longtime Dodgers fan urged a jury Tuesday to award his client about $1.18 million for injuries suffered during a 2009 clash with security guards at Dodger Stadium, but a lawyer for the team said the man deserves nothing.
The two sides faced off in Los Angeles Superior Court as jurors began deliberating in Leonard Romo’s case against the Dodgers, which stemmed from injuries he received during a Sept. 16, 2009, game in which the Dodgers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1.
The team was owned at the time by Frank McCourt, and his business entities would be liable for any judgment the jury may reach on the plaintiff’s behalf, according to Romo’s attorney, Christopher Aumais.
Romo, now 51, says he was attending the game with his wife, daughter Kelly, now 35, and grandchildren when he was tackled, handcuffed and dragged 25 feet. Romo suffered shoulder, knee, back and neck injuries and later underwent knee surgery, his court papers state.
But according to defense attorney Jerome Jackson’s court papers, Romo and his daughter became belligerent when security guards asked her to turn her T-shirt inside out because it had offensive language on it. The security guards had to restrain the pair, according to Jackson’s court papers.
Jurors viewed a video of the incident during trial and Judge Michael Linfield said they can see it again during deliberations.
Romo, of Los Angeles, said during a recess in the trial that he had an allegiance to the Dodgers long before the incident and that he continues to follow the team Tuesday.
“I’ll always be a fan,” Romo said.
—City News Service
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