Jury: Dodgers partly responsible for Stow beating Jury: Team partly responsible for Giants fan's injuries

Bryan Stow, assisted by a caregiver, is nearly surrounded as he is taken into a Los Angeles courtroom on June 25. Bryan Stow, assisted by a caregiver, is nearly surrounded as he is taken into a Los Angeles courtroom on June 25. Photo: Al Seib, Associated Press Photo: Al Seib, Associated Press Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Jury: Dodgers partly responsible for Stow beating 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

The Los Angeles Dodgers were partly responsible for the 2011 beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow, a jury ruled Wednesday in awarding the Santa Cruz man $18 million from the team and the two men who attacked him.

Stow and his family sued the organization and its former owner Frank McCourt for negligence, claiming that Dodgers management did not provide enough security at Dodger Stadium to prevent the assault that left Stow permanently disabled and put a stain on professional sports rivalries.

The Dodgers' attorney argued during a monthlong trial that Stow had partly brought the attack on himself by drunkenly berating Dodgers fans, and the verdict awarded him substantially less than what he had sought. The lawsuit filed by Stow and his family in Los Angeles County Superior Court asked for more than $50 million, mostly to cover lifetime care for traumatic brain injury.

Tom Girardi, an attorney for Stow's family, said the verdict means the Dodgers must pay about $14 million in economic losses to the former paramedic. Because the jury assigned 25 percent responsibility for Stow's pain and suffering to the Dodgers, the team must pay $1 million of the $4 million awarded to him for that part of the verdict, Girardi said.

McCourt absolved in case

The rest of the pain-and-suffering judgment was divided evenly between the two men who pleaded guilty to beating Stow. They are both in prison, and their ability to pay is unknown.

The jury absolved McCourt of any responsibility.

"You would always say it would be nice if there were some more (money), but the fact of the matter is we're very pleased," Girardi said. "This money is going to really help this family."

He said Stow was "very, very happy" about the verdict.

Stow, 45, was attacked in the stadium parking lot after an Opening Day game against the San Francisco Giants on March 31, 2011. Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood were sentenced in February to eight and four years in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty to felony charges in the attack.

The beating left Stow in need of round-the-clock medical care.

"Dodger Stadium got to a place where it was a total mess," Girardi told jurors. "There was a culture of violence. Beer sales were off the charts."

Lawyer blames attackers

The Dodgers' attorney, Dana Fox, said blame for the attack lay with Sanchez and Norwood, not the team. He contended that the security presence at the game was greater than at any other Opening Day in the Dodgers' history, and that Stow's beating could not have been prevented.

He also suggested Stow had played a role in the attack, relating a witness account of him yelling at Dodger fans in the parking lot. He also cited testimony that Stow's blood alcohol level was 0.18 percent - more than double the legal limit for driving.

"There were three parties responsible - Sanchez, Norwood and, unfortunately, Stow himself," Fox said. "There were things Mr. Stow did that put these things in action."

Girardi countered that "the only thing Bryan Stow was doing was wearing a jersey that said 'Giants.' "

Stow appeared in court June 25, one day before the case went to the jury. He was in a wheelchair, with the head scars visible from the lifesaving surgery he had after the attack. His attorney has said Stow has no recollection of the incident.

Stow and three friends had driven to Los Angeles to watch the Giants' first game since winning the 2010 World Series. When Stow left the stadium, words were exchanged between his party and Sanchez.

Sanchez proceeded to hit Stow's friends. After the groups were separated, Sanchez chased down Stow and attacked him from behind.

Falling short

The jury's award to Stow falls short of what many victims with permanent disabilities have won against those found liable for their condition, said Nanci Clarence, a San Francisco attorney who has argued several such cases.

"This has to be a bit of a disappointment for the family," Clarence said, adding that it's unlikely Stow will collect the portion owed by the men who beat him.

"The name of the game is collecting insurance dollars," she said. "There's a very high likelihood that the two sentenced defendants are not going to have insurance money."

Coach raising funds

Giants third base coach Tim Flannery, who has been active in fundraising for Stow, said, "I didn't get too involved with the legal aspect of the situation, but I know there's some relief from the family. There is a relief that Bryan was not held responsible. But the $18 million doesn't cover the medical bills owed."

The Giants have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Stow, mostly through benefit concerts held by Flannery and his band, the Lunatic Fringe. Flannery said Wednesday that he is planning four additional concerts for January.

"The Stow family showed me so much about responsibility," Flannery said. "They all became full-time caregivers as soon as this happened. I know they've been through a rough, rough patch."