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The cast of characters:

Judge:

The Honorable John H. Hausner

Plaintiff:

Mr. Keith Blevins

Defendants:

District 7 Dads' Club, and Mr. Peter Stephen

Plaintiff's Attorney:

Mr. David Esper

Defendants' Attorneys:

Mrs. Maureen Christianson for Mr. Peter Stephen

Mr. George Borgel for the District 7 Dads' Club

 

In January, 1989, the plaintiff, Mr. Blevins, was injured in a father-son ice hockey game conducted under the auspices of the District 7 Dads' Club, a Michigan non-profit organization that sponsors athletic activities for boys in Dearborn. Mr. Blevins was playing with his eleven year old nephew, David Sherman, the son of his older sister. His sister is divorced, and he fills in in some respects for David's father, who has moved away. He was struck in the left eye by a puck; that eye is now almost totally blind.

Mr. Stephen is the "hockey commissioner" for the District 7 Dads' Club. He organized the club's hockey program, and continues to run it. As a rule, he is present at all the District 7 Dads' Club hockey games, and maintains order. He was not present at this game. Mr. Blevins claims (and, by extension, the Dads' Club he works for) was negligent in two respects: First, he knew, or should have known, that in his absence the game would get out of control and become unduly aggressive and dangerous, especially since he did not provide for adequate officiating. Second, he failed to provide adequate safety equipment to the players. In particular, this injury could have been prevented if a face shield had been available for Mr. Blevins, but there was none. Mr. Blevins claims that as a direct (proximate) result of this negligence, he was injured by a puck that was sent flying by a slap shot -- a type of shot that should never have been permitted in a game of this sort.

The defendants claim that Mr. Stephen and the Dads' Club ran a safe, low-key, unaggressive hockey program. Specifically, they deny that this particular game got out of hand. They claim that the accident was an unavoidable mishap and was not caused by a slap shot, and that adequate safety equipment was available.