14-YEAR-OLD PLAINTIFF ASSUMED THE RISK OF COLLIDING WITH RETRACTED BLEACHERS DURING A BASKETBALL PRACTICE DRILL IN WHICH BOUNDARY LINES WERE TO BE IGNORED; THE DISSENT DISAGREED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the defendant school district’s motion for summary judgment in this negligent supervision case should have been granted. The 14-year-old plaintiff was participating in a basketball practice drill in which the boundary lines of the court were to be ignored. When plaintiff attempted to retrieve a ball that went over the boundary line she was pushed into the retracted bleachers. The Third Department held plaintiff assumed the risk of injury during that form of practice:

“The primary assumption of risk doctrine . . . encompasses risks involving less than optimal conditions” … . The opinion of plaintiff’s expert that the drill could have been safer by utilizing the boundary lines of the basketball court and having more space was insufficient to raise an issue of fact given that the failure to do so did not unreasonably increase the inherent risks of the drill or playing basketball … . Plaintiff’s expert likewise failed to cite to any specific industry standard violated by defendants … . Furthermore, there is no indication in the record that the boundary lines of the basketball court acted as, or were intended to be, a safety mechanism to prevent a player’s collision with the bleachers. Because plaintiff did not satisfy her burden, defendants’ motion should have been granted … . Secky v New Paltz Cent. Sch. Dist., 2021 NY Slip Op 04071, Second Dept 6-24-21