Opinion
2001-10092
Argued February 3, 2003.
March 3, 2003.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Milano, J.), entered September 21, 2001, which granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Melvin Dubinsky, New York, N.Y., for appellant.
Boeggeman, George, Hodges Corde, P.C., White Plains, N.Y. (Leslie K. Arfine and Cynthia Dolan of counsel), for respondent.
Before: MYRIAM J. ALTMAN, J.P., SONDRA MILLER, WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, LEO F. McGINITY, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff commenced this action to recover damages for injuries she sustained at her daughter's softball game when she was struck by a foul ball while standing in an unprotected area in foul territory along the third base line. Even if the defendant could be considered a proprietor of the field who owed a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent injury to spectators (see Akins v. Glens Falls City School Dist., 53 N.Y.2d 325, 329; Stern v. Madison Sq. Garden Corp., 226 A.D.2d 444, 445), that duty was satisfied as the ball field had a fenced backstop behind home plate which provided an adequate protective area for spectators (see Akins v. Glens Falls City School Dist., supra at 331; Stern v. Madison Sq. Garden Corp., supra at 445; Lynch v. Board of Educ. for Oceanside School Dist., 225 A.D.2d 741; Clark v. Goshen Sunday Morning Softball League, 122 A.D.2d 769). In opposition to the defendant's prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, the plaintiff failed to raise a material issue of fact regarding the adequacy of the screened area or her ability to avail herself of such area (see Clapman v. City of New York, 63 N.Y.2d 669). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
ALTMAN, J.P., S. MILLER, FRIEDMANN and McGINITY, JJ., concur.