Dodger Stadium. File Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In the wake of a horrific parking lot beating, Dodger Stadium was supposed to be significantly safer for fans after the $2 billion sale of the team in 2012 and subsequent much-publicized increased security.
But now a Bakersfield geologist is suing the team, saying he was allegedly beaten and suffered a traumatic brain injury outside Dodger Stadium after attending a playoff game between the Mets and the home team in 2015.
He also named as defendants a man and woman he blames for the attack, while his wife in court papers says she lost the “love” and companionship of her injured husband.
The lawsuit raised similar claims to that made by a San Francisco Giants fan who was attacked and suffered permanent brain damage in the stadium parking lot in 2011.
In 2014, Giants fan Bryan Stow of Capitola was awarded a multimillion- dollar verdict stemming from the permanent brain injury he suffered in a March 31, 2011, beating in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.
In this new lawsuit filed Monday, Ariel D. Auffant, a Bakersfield geologist, and his wife, Abigale, brought the complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court against Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, Michael Rae Papayans and Jennifer Lynn Papayans.
The lawsuit does not state the relationship between the Papayans and the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Ryan Bright, could not be immediately reached.
A Dodgers spokesman declined comment on the suit, which alleges negligence, premises liability, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium. The plaintiffs are asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Auffant attended the playoff game on Oct. 9, 2015, the first contest of the National League Division Series, according to his court papers. Auffant was a Dodger fan, but his cousin, who was among those who accompanied the plaintiff to the game, wore a Mets cap and was a supporter of the New York team, the suit says.
The Mets won the game 3-1. Auffant and his companions walked outside the stadium to go home about 10 p.m. and were confronted by the Papayans, who shouted vulgar language at them, according to the complaint.
The area was not well-lit and no security was present, the suit alleges.
After the Auffant group reached the handicapped parking area, he was “brutally attacked” by the Papayans, causing him to lose consciousness and fall to the pavement, the suit alleges.
“Ariel Auffant struck his head on the pavement and his assailants continued the attack by kicking him,” according to the lawsuit.
Dodger security staffers took several minutes to respond, even though the attack happened near the stadium gates, the suit states.
Abigale Auffant maintains she has lost the love and companionship of her husband since he was hurt.
–City News Service
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!