A judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the owners of Staples Center by a Chicago Blackhawks fan who said he was beaten by drunken Los Angeles Kings fans during a 2014 playoff game.
Bruce Dobrowski filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 2015 against Anschutz Entertainment Group, alleging violation of a safety statute. His wife and fellow plaintiff, Catherine Dobrowski, alleged loss of consortium. They sought $1.5 million.
However, Judge Benny Osorio ruled Monday that the case should tossed because the plaintiffs had not moved forward with the lawsuit. A minute order issued in the case on Nov. 8 stated that the plaintiffs were representing themselves but that they did not appear in court that day or have any communication with the court.
According to the complaint, the Dobrowskis attended game three of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center on May 24, 2014. The couple and some friends went to the game in Blackhawk attire, which made them “unassuming prime targets for the anger and hostility by Kings fans who had become fueled by the AEG-Staples Center’s unchecked provision for sale of beer and wine,” the suit alleges.
The anti-Blackhawk atmosphere was further exacerbated by arena loudspeaker broadcasts of hometown fans chants such as “Go Kings, kill Hawks,” according to the lawsuit.
Bruce Dobrowski and one of his companions were “brutally assaulted and battered, in plain sight of inept, understaffed and ineffective security,” the suit alleged.
Dobrowski says he was forced to “fend for himself after rendered semi- conscious from blows with the singular assistance provided only by one other good Samaritan attendee.”
Dobrowski’s face was lacerated and his facial bones were permanently fractured, the suit states. He also suffered injuries to his back, neck, upper torso and hands, and additionally experienced emotional distress, the suit alleged.
Dobrowski’s injuries have “interfered and curtailed the marital relationship” between him and his wife, according to the complaint.
The Dobrowskis alleged that Staples Center lacked sufficient security and that the arena’s loudspeaker was wrongfully used to broadcast spiteful comments by hometown followers against the visiting team and its devotees.
The Kings beat the Blackhawks that night, 4-3. They went on to win the series and later their second Stanley Cup against the New York Rangers in the finals.
