A manufacturer of stickball bats has struck out in its attempt to win summary judgment on a claim filed against it by a player who lost an eye after he was struck by a bat that slipped out of another player’s hands.
Supreme Court Justice Ute Wolff Lally of Nassau County, N.Y., in Burns v. Sportsmania, 10232/2005, found that the testimony of the plaintiff’s expert witness trumped the “well established” doctrine under which participants in sporting events are usually held to have assumed the risk of the activity. She dismissed the motion of defendant Skybounce Ball Co. of Floral Park, N.Y., and ordered it to participate in discovery.
