A lawsuit against the Los Angeles Dodgers by a fan attacked in a stadium parking lot after a game in 2019 has been settled. No terms have been disclosed.
The fan, Rafael Reyna, was hospitalized with a brain injury after he was attacked after watching the Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 29, 2019.
Reyna was walking to his car near midnight in one of the parking lots when he was violently beaten by five people. He collapsed and struck his head, the suit stated. The fight left him on life support.
Reyna’s lawsuit alleged negligence, premises liability, assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. His suit claimed lighting was poor and security was lacking at the game.
On August 1, 2024, attorneys for Reyna filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anne Hwang stating that the case was resolved. The trial was set for Sept. 23.
Reyna’s wife, Christel Reyna, alleged negligent infliction of emotional distress as a bystander to the attack.
Their attorneys claimed in previous court papers that the crime rate at Dodger Stadium exceeds that of any other ballpark in Major League Baseball.
Security was reduced in 2004 for financial reasons. In 2008, the Dodgers began using security guards uniformed in polo shirts without any uniformed Los Angeles police officers, the suit filed in April 2020 alleged.
The incident was reminiscent of a 2011 Dodgers Stadium altercation involving San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, who suffered permanent disability and brain damage when he was assaulted in the stadium parking lot following a game.
Stow’s assailants received prison sentences and the Dodgers sustained a judgment. After the Stow incident, security was ramped up in the parking lots and at the stadium, and the Dodgers management at the time (the team was sold after that) vowed to crack down on perceptions that a gang element had taken over on nights when discounts were offered.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury in 2014 awarded about $18 million in damages to Stow, while attributing 75% of the liability to his two assailants who beat him into a coma, 25% to the team, and none to former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
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