WILMINGTON, Del, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Los Angeles
Dodgers fired 300 security staff before a fan was badly beaten
at a game last year and the baseball team and its owner should
face a lawsuit over the incident, the fan's attorney said on
Wednesday.
Documents will be filed on Wednesday that will show that a
lack of security contributed to the attack on Bryan Stow,
according to Stow's attorney, Thomas Girardi of Girardi & Keese.
Stow was beaten nearly to death outside Dodger Stadium after
the team's opening day game on March 31. He and his family have
filed a lawsuit in California for negligence, but that case was
put on hold the by team's bankruptcy filing in Delaware in June.
The team is now being auctioned and has attracted bids from
some of the biggest names in business and sports such as
billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, ex-Yankees and
Dodgers manager Joe Torre and basketball great Magic Johnson.
The Dodgers asked the bankruptcy court to dismiss the Stow
case because Stow cannot show that security staffing caused his
injuries.
Girardi said he has evidence that shows team owner Frank McCourt "made the decision to get rid of security" and will file
those documents with Delaware's bankruptcy court by the end of
the day.
The Delaware bankruptcy court will hold a hearing on March 7
to decide if the Stow case can proceed in California.
Earlier on Wednesday, Delaware bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross
approved a disclosure statement which describes how the Dodgers
will repay creditors and exit bankruptcy. Approval keeps the
team on track to be sold and out of bankruptcy by the end of
April.
The bankruptcy case is In re:Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No.11-12010.
For the Dodgers: Donald Bowman Jr. of Young, Conaway,
Stargatt & Taylor and Bruce Bennett and Marten Bienenstock of
Dewey & LeBoeuf.
(Reporting by Tom Hals)
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