Assumption of Risk Extends to Construction of Baseball Field
Plaintiff, while playing baseball, fell on a concrete pathway adjacent to the outfield while running to catch a ball. The Second Department determined the doctrine of primary assumption of risk applied to risks associated with the construction of the playing field:
…[T]he Supreme Court properly granted the defendants’ separate motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them based on the doctrine of primary assumption of risk. That doctrine extends to those risks associated with the construction of the playing field and any open and obvious condition thereon…, as well as risks involving less than optimal playing conditions …. The defendants demonstrated their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by establishing that the plaintiff assumed the risk of injury by voluntarily participating in the softball game, thereby consenting to the commonly appreciated risks which are inherent in and arise out of the sport generally and flow from such participation, including those open and obvious risks associated with the construction of and conditions upon the playing field … . Mattas v Town of Hempstead, 2013 NY Slip Op 03464, 2nd Dept, 5-15-13
