Jurors ordered to keep deliberating in Los Angeles Dodgers lawsuit

[July 03, 2014]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jurors weighing a $37 million lawsuit against the Los Angeles Dodgers and their former owner by a fan who was badly beaten at the team's stadium on Opening Day 2011 told a judge on Wednesday they had been unable to reach a verdict, a court officer said.

But the judge ordered the Los Angeles Superior Court jury, which has been considering the case by 45-year-old Bryan Stow for five days following a month-long civil trial, to continue deliberating, the court spokesman said.

Stow, a father of two and former paramedic from Northern California, alleges the Dodgers are liable for the attack in the Dodger Stadium parking lot that left him brain-damaged and unable to earn a living.

Stow's negligence suit also names the then-owner of the team, Frank McCourt, as a defendant, accusing him of skimping on security that Stow says would have prevented him from being assaulted after the season-opening game between the Dodgers and their longtime rivals, the San Francisco Giants.

Defense lawyers say the blame lies instead with the two men who pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the attack and were sentenced to prison terms of eight and four years, respectively.

Stow is seeking $37.2 million for past and future medical care, lost earnings and the college education of his two children.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb and Peter Cooney)

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