Summary
holding as a matter of law injury caused by player sliding into base is commonly appreciated risk inherent in playing softball
Summary of this case from Allen v. Dover Co-Recreational Softball LeagueOpinion
March 29, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Kohn, J.).
Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is granted, and the complaint is dismissed.
The infant plaintiff was injured during a softball game when the defendant Frank Pierce, an adult, slid into base and collided with the infant plaintiff. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the infant plaintiff assumed the risk of injury. The Supreme Court denied the motion and we now reverse.
It is well established that: "`[p]ursuant to the doctrine of assumption of risk, an injured party may not seek compensation for injuries incurred as the consequence of some risk or danger usually associated with a pursuit voluntarily undertaken. Thus, when it is shown indisputably that a particular injury was caused by a condition or practice which is common to a particular sport (see, e.g., Turcotte v. Fell, 68 N.Y.2d 432), summary judgment is warranted' (Cuesta v. Immaculate Conception R.C. Church, 168 A.D.2d 411)" (Checchi v. Socorro, 169 A.D.2d 807, 808).
Sliding into base is an integral part of the game of softball. The infant plaintiff here admitted that he was aware that sliding into base was part of the sport and, indeed, he admitted that participants of other games had hit him while sliding into a base he was covering. Under these circumstances, he must be deemed to have assumed the risk of injury (see, Brown v. City of Peekskill, 212 A.D.2d 658; Cardoza v. Village of Freeport, 205 A.D.2d 571; Gonzalez v. City of New York, 203 A.D.2d 421; cf., Mauner v. Feinstein, 213 A.D.2d 383). Rosenblatt, J.P., Miller, Lawrence and Florio, JJ., concur.