Two Dodger fans who alleged they were subjected to excessive force and wrongfully ejected from Dodger Stadium in 2024 reached a settlement with the team just before trial.
Plaintiffs Luis Ortiz and Joanna Maria Iniguez contended in their Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that they were thrown out of Dodger Stadium for protesting the methods in which two other patrons who ran onto the field were allegedly mistreated by security guards.
Their suit filed in January 2025 alleged assault, battery, false imprisonment, civil rights violations and negligent hiring, retention and supervision.
Judge Upinder S. Kalra had ordered a panel of prospective jurors for Monday, but the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed court papers with the judge on Wednesday notifying him of an “unconditional” resolution in the case. No terms were divulged.
The outgrowth of substantially increased security by the Dodgers in response to their alleged lack of same during the 2011 Bryan Stow beating in a stadium parking lot indicated that the Dodgers’ alleged zero-tolerance policy included permitting its security personnel to “run roughshod” over even minor encounters with patrons like Ortiz and Iniguez, the pair’s lawyer stated in his pleadings.
In their previous court papers, Dodger attorneys denied the plaintiffs’ allegations and said any damages they suffered was due to the “reckless, negligent or improper conduct of plaintiffs themselves.”
Ortiz and Iniguez attended the game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres on Oct. 5, 2024. Both saw security guards apprehend two other fans who ran onto the field and believed the pair were being handled too harshly, according to the suit, which further states that Iniguez made an obscene finger gesture toward the guards.
When a female guard subsequently approached the plaintiffs and told them they would have to leave the venue, they protested that they had done nothing wrong and were only being ejected because they objected to the treatment of the fans who went onto the field, the suit stated.
The guards then forcibly removed Ortiz and Iniguez from their seats and both suffered shoulder injuries, according to the suit, which further stated that Iniguez suffered injuries to her arm, wrist, elbow and hand.
Ortiz and Iniguez have suffered lost income as well as emotional distress due to their injuries, the suit stated. The suit does not indicate any relationship between the plaintiffs or say if they went to the game together.