Injured Cubs fan’s lawsuit can proceed, appellate court rules

An Illinois appellate court ruled Tuesday a woman struck by a foul ball at Wrigley Field can move ahead with a lawsuit she filed against Major League Baseball.

In upholding a lower court ruling, the appellate court said the plaintiff was not limited to arbitrating her case with Major League Baseball. It noted the arbitration provision was hidden in fine print and couldn’t be appreciated by the plaintiff.

Laiah Zuniga was struck in the face by a foul ball during a 2018 Chicago Cubs game. In the lawsuit filed last year, Zuniga says the ball knocked her unconscious, caused facial fractures and extensive damage to her teeth. She says she was hit because the stadium hadn’t extended netting that protects fans from foul balls all the way down the third base line.

Teams have largely been protected from lawsuits by language on the back of tickets that states the holder assumes the risks and dangers of attending a game. The assumption of risk has been spelled out on ticket stubs for more than a century.

In its opinion, the court noted the likelihood a ticket holder would see or read the full arbitration provision by accessing a team’s website or visiting its administrative office is diminished further by the minimal effort on the ticket to draw the holder’s attention to the need to do so in order to understand they are agreeing to binding arbitration.

MLB issued recommendations for protective netting or screens in December 2015, encouraging teams to have it in place between the ends of the dugouts closest to home plate. The push for an expansion increased after a series of spectator injuries.