Bryan Stow was nearly beaten to death in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on Opening Day 2011. His criminal assailants are now in jail, but the matter is not totally closed. Stow has a civil case pending against the Dodgers which accuses the team and former owner Frank McCourt of not providing sufficient security that day. Jury selection began in that case yesterday. Stow was there for it, but he has suffered brain damage and will not testify.
The jury questionnaire asks potential jurors about their experience with or knowledge of traumatic brain injury and caring for people who are disabled for life, as Stow is. It asks about fistfights at a sporting events and their experience with stadium or arena security. It also asks something else:
”What is your opinion if any of Frank McCourt?” they were asked, referring to the unpopular Dodgers owner who sold the team under duress. They were asked how many times they have been to Dodgers or Giants games and whether they ever had a negative experience at Dodger Stadium.
Given that he’s a defendant who had all kinds of bad press in the couple of years before and after Stow’s beating, it’s probably pretty relevant.
Ultimately the case will be about whether there was sufficient security that day. The Dodgers and McCourt have long said that they had their biggest security detail ever for that game. Maybe so, but that is beside the point if, in the opinion of the jurors, that was still not reasonable.
Stow will need medical care, assistance and rehabilitation for life. It could cost him and/or his insurers upwards of $50 million.
