Los Angeles Dodger fan settles case over 2019 alleged beating in stadium parking lot
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit brought against the Los Angeles Dodgers by a fan hospitalized with a serious brain injury after he was allegedly attacked in a stadium parking lot after a game in 2019.
The fan, Rafael Reyna, was attacked after watching the Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 29, 2019.
After the game, which ended shortly after midnight, Reyna was walking to his car that was parked in one of the parking lots when he was overtaken by about five people and violently beaten. The attack caused him to collapse onto the parking lot asphalt and strike his head, the suit stated.
RELATED: Dodgers fan sues team over 2019 parking lot beating
The original trial was set for Sept. 23. Reyna's lawsuit alleged negligence, premises liability, assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He maintained 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. No terms were divulged.
Reyna's wife, Christel Reyna, alleged negligent infliction of emotional distress as a bystander to the attack.
Their attorneys maintained in their 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, possibly due to the financial troubles of former owner Frank McCourt, and in 2008, the Dodgers began relying solely on security guards uniformed in polo shirts, without any uniformed Los Angeles police officers, the suit filed in April 2020 alleged.
In 2011, Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, was attacked in one of the venue's parking lots. 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.
