After swearing-in a plaintiff over a telephone and hearing the man’s current wishes, a judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Dodger Stadium patron who sued the team over injuries he alleged he suffered after being attacked by fans and security officers in a parking lot after a 2022 game, according to court papers obtained Thursday.
Donald Williams’ Van Nuys Superior Court lawsuit alleged negligence, premises liability, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault battery, and false imprisonment. On Wednesday, Judge Eric Harmon dismissed Williams’ lawsuit at the plaintiff’s request via a sworn telephonic explanation. The judge’s decision was “without prejudice,” meaning it could possibly be refiled.
Williams has been representing himself for about a year. He filed the case in May 2023. According to the suit, he attended a July 26, 2022 game between the Dodgers and Washington Nationals before a nearly sellout crowd. The Nationals broke open what had been a one-run game since the first inning with four runs in the ninth inning in an 8-3 victory, causing many Dodger fans to become “upset and unruly,” the suit stated.
Williams and his girlfriend left about 10:15 p.m. and were about 40 to 50 feet outside the stadium when he was “brutally attacked by other fans for unknown reasons,” causing him to fall to the ground in a defensive position, the suit stated.
Security officers did not arrive until several minutes later and when Williams finally stood up, he, his girlfriend and other witnesses tried to tell the guards that he was the victim of an assault, the suit stated.
Rather than provide aid to plaintiff, the security guards allegedly attacked the plaintiff, placing him in a headlock, slammed him to the ground, smashed his face, shoulders and knees into the pavement and handcuffed him, the suit stated.
The officers held Williams on the ground for about 15 minutes while he was bleeding from his nose and face and was struggling to breathe, according to the suit.
A security supervisor later arrived and told the other officers to take off Williams’ handcuffs, explaining that the persons who had attacked Williams had been caught, the suit stated.
Williams suffered a broken nose, a torn muscle in his arm, injuries to his intervertebral discs and other serious injuries, the suit stated.
According to the suit, security personnel levels that were cut back before the new ownership bought the team in 2012 were never fully restored due to “financial turmoil and/or undercapitalization of the organization.”