On Friday, October 2, 2015, Major League Baseball filed a motion to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that the MLB has failed to protect fans from foul balls and bats.
The lawsuit was filed in July by Oakland Athletics season-ticket holder Gail Payne. Payne is seeking class-action status on behalf of all season ticket holders currently sitting in unprotected areas of MLB ballparks. The suit seeks no monetary compensation, but instead seeks an injunction requiring the MLB to install additional netting.
Major League Baseball argued in its motion on Friday that Payne has no standing because she has never been injured by a foul ball or bat. Moreover, the MLB argued that Payne’s action is an “overreaching attempt to impose unnecessary and unwanted regulation,” and that her fear resulting from her choice of where to sit does not “justify forcing the majority of baseball fans … to sit behind netting.”