Negligence Claims And Defenses

Negligence Essay SPM 450 You are the athletic director at Westerville North High School located in Westerville, Ohio. Every year you play the cross town rival, Westerville South, in basketball and every year the game seems to get more and more physical. This year’s game promises to be extra competitive as the two teams are ranked number one and two in the district respectfully. As you wait for the varsity basketball game to start you notice that the stands are fuller than usual and that both Westerville North and Westerville South fans are sitting in the same bleachers and are seemingly intermingled. You are seated down on the court at the scorer’s table with the school principle, the game announcer, and the scoreboard operator. From the opening whistle, the game is fiercely competitive and very physical. In the first and second quarter alone there are four technical fouls called, two against each team. As the first half ends you leave your seat to go and talk with the games officials. The high number of technical fouls that have been called makes you nervous that the game might get out of hand and that the refs might need to pay special attention to fouls escalating in the second half. In talking with the referees they assure you they have things under control and that they will continue to call a very tight game. Feeling confident that the referees have everything under control you return to your seat. The third quarter begins right where the second quarter left off, as each team is whistled for fouls in the first few minutes of the quarter. Having enough, the referees stop play and call both Westerville North’s and Westerville South’s coaches to the scorer’s table. The referees warn the coaches that a number of players are getting very close to getting ejected from the game due to their rough play. The coaches acknowledge the referees’ comments, both say they will talk to their players, and return to their benches. Two minutes later Joe Thomas, the point guard for Westerville North, drives to the basket where he is fouled hard by Jack MacJackson, the center for Westerville South. As Joe is getting up from the hard foul and walking to the foul line to shot two free-throws Jack yells, “Next time you bring that weak stuff to the hoop you’re not getting up!” After Joe makes both foul shots he spots Jack. As the ball is inbounded for Westerville South, Joe jogs down the court next to Jack and then, out of nowhere, Joe elbows Jack as hard as he can in the ribs. The crowd erupts in anger. Jack falls to the ground in front of Joe causing Joe to clumsily step on Jack’s ribs and fall to the ground himself. Having seen this, the referees immediately call Joe for a technical foul and eject him from the game. What arguments would Jack make in support of a claim of negligence against Joe and you (the athletic director)? What defense(s) can reasonably be asserted, if any, by Joe or you? Who is likely to prevail in the lawsuits where Jack sues BOTH Joe and you (the athletic director) for negligence. HINT: You must analyze Joe and you (the athletic director) separately, as they will owe different duties, if any, to Jack. This assignment is to be done INDIVIDUALLY. It should be typed, using proper grammar, and 12 point Times New Roman font. *Any outside sources used (such as the textbook) must be valid and must be cited in APA format, including in-text citations where appropriate. For anything suspicious, I will run the documents through Turn It In, so the use of prior work of yours or another students and/or any online plagiarism will be flagged and subject to an academic integrity violation.