MORGAN DENNEHY VS. EAST WINDSOR REGIONAL BOARD OF EDUCATION, ET AL. (L-1333-17, MERCER COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-2497-19)
Plaintiff Morgan Dennehy appeals from a February 18, 2020 order denying her motion for reconsideration of a previous order granting summary judgment to defendants East Windsor Regional Board of Education, Hightstown High School, James W. Peto, Todd M. Peto, and Dezarae Fillmyer. Plaintiff was a student at Hightstown High School and a member of the field hockey team. On September 9, 2015, the field hockey team was waiting for its scheduled practice on Hightstown High School's turf field to begin and was conducting drills in the "D-zone," an area between the recently renovated turf field and the track. Some members of the team were participating in the drills while others watched. A twenty-foot-tall ball-stopper is located at each end of the turf field and separates the "D-zone" from the turf field. While the field hockey team was practicing drills in the "D-zone," the boys soccer team was practicing on the turf field and plaintiff observed several soccer balls vault the ball stopper. After the team concluded its drills, plaintiff asked defendant Coach Fillmyer if she could take a shot on goal. Defendant agreed because plaintiff rarely had the opportunity to shoot on goal. Plaintiff left the area directly behind the ball stopper and, after she finished shooting, she was struck in the back of the neck by an errant soccer ball that went over the ball stopper. Plaintiff was later taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion. Plaintiff filed suit alleging that defendants were negligent and negligent in hiring, retaining, training, and supervision of employees.
On appeal, plaintiff argues that the motion judge erroneously applied the heightened recklessness standard set forth in Crawn v. Campo, 136 N.J. 494 (1994). After reviewing the applicable case law, the court concluded that the motion judge erred in applying the heightened recklessness standard from Crawn. In this case, defendant Fillmyer was not a co-participant who directly injured plaintiff and, therefore, Crawn does not apply.
The court also determined that Rosania v. Carmona, 308 N.J. Super. 365 (App. Div. 1998) does not apply to this case. In Rosania, a martial arts instructor participated in a sparring match with a student and kicked the student in the head causing his retina to detach. The martial arts dojo had a written rule that prohibited targeting of the head. The Rosania panel determined that if the jury found the risks inherent in the karate match were materially increased by an instructor beyond those reasonably anticipated by the dojo rules, it should have been charged on the ordinary duty owed to business invitees rather than the heightened recklessness standard for competitive contact sports. The court declined to apply Rosania in this case for two reasons: first, defendant Fillmyer was not a co-participant; and second, the Rosania panel's decision was informed by cases decided by the New York Court of Appeals which contemplated a different heightened standard. The court concluded that because defendant in this case is a public employee, her duties, responsibilities, and immunities are clearly established in the New Jersey Tort Claims Act N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 to 12-3, and thus defendant is liable to the same extent as a private person for her negligence and the ordinary negligence standard should govern this case.
