A Rams season ticket holder who contended that she was injured when the back of her SoFi Stadium seat broke during a 2021 preseason game against the Chargers has reached a tentative settlement in her lawsuit.
The defendants in Tiffany T. Botello’s Torrance Superior Court suit included the Rams, StadCo LA LLC, Pincay Re LLC and Hollywood Park Management Co. LLC. StadCo LA is the owner and developer of SoFi Stadium.
Botello’s attorney filed court papers on Friday with Judge Gary Y. Tanaka notifying him of a “conditional” resolution of the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by June 15. No terms were divulged.
In a previously filed sworn declaration, Botello said that on Aug. 14, 2021, her padded club-style spectator seat “abruptly failed and collapsed beneath me, causing me to suffer personal injuries and other damages.”
The seat assembly was broken and could not support her weight, according to Botello, who additionally said she does not remember signing the license agreement.
Stadium attorneys contended in their court papers that when Botello bought her season tickets, they came with a licensing agreement in which the plaintiff “expressly released and waived” all potential negligence-based claims for injuries related to any of her attendances at SoFi Stadium.
“Here, the license agreement was of sufficient clarity and scope to warn plaintiff that she was releasing defendants from any and all liability relating to her presence in and about SoFi Stadium,” stadium attorneys further stated in their court papers.
But Botello’s attorney maintained that advance releases from liability can never extend to violations of law.