Dodgers ordered to pay beaten fan $14 million: 'It's finally over'

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Bryan Stow is wheeled out of the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on June 25. An L.A. jury on July 9 ruled that the Dodgers were partly liable for injuries Stow suffered in a March 31, 2011, beating at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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David and Ann Stow, father and mother of victim, Bryan Stow, with attorney Thomas V. Girardi, far left, after the verdict was read in Los Angeles County Superior Court. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Stow’s parents David and Ann Stow, center, walk away from the courthouse across Grand Avenue on July 9 after a jury awarded roughly $18 million in damages to the San Francisco Giants fan who was beaten into a coma outside Dodger Stadium in 2011. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Judge Victor E. Chavez thanks the jury for their service following the reading of the verdict in the Bryan Stow civil case. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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David and Ann Stow, father and mother of victim, Bryan Stow leave the Los Angeles County Courthouse following the reading of the verdict. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Defense attorney Dana Fox listens as jurors were polled following the reading of the verdict in the Bryan Stow civil trial. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Plaintiff’s attorney Thomas Girardi presents closing arguments in the trial of Bryan Stow’s lawsuit against former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Los Angeles Dodgers LLC. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Defense attorney Dana Fox presents closing arguments in the trial of Bryan Stow’s lawsuit against former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Los Angeles Dodgers LLC. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow is surrounded by Family and media as he is led into the Los Angeles County Superior Courthouse in downtown LA. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow, shown in a wheelchair, is accompanied by, from left, his mother, Ann Stow, sister Bonnie Stow, and father, David Stow, as he is led into Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, June 25 as his civil trial nears an end. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow is led into Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 25. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow is surrounded by media as he is led into Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, June 25. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Attorney Thomas V. Girardi addresses the media before beating victim Bryan Stow is led into Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, June 25. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, right, on June 13 walks into Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he testified in Bryan Stow’s lawsuit against the Dodgers. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Frank McCourt, right, being followed by members of the media, walks into Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 13. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Frank McCourt, center, walks out of Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 13 after testifying in the Bryan Stow beating trial. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt holds a short news conference outside of court June 13. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Frank McCourt, left, and Matt Rose, managing director of communications for McCourt Global, walk past media cameras outside Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 13. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow, assisted by a caregiver, is surrounded by his sisters Erin Collins, left, and Bonnie Stow, second from right, as well as his mother, Ann Stow, in background, as he leaves Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 28. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Beating victim Bryan Stow, in wheelchair, enters Los Angeles County Superior Court in May. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow’s family arrives at Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 29 for opening statements in Stow’s civil case. They are, from left, Stow’s mother, Ann Stow, Stowe’s sister, Erin Collins, and Stow’s father, David Stow. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow says goodbye to his sister, Bonnie Stow, left, after he is assisted by a caregiver into a special van as he departs Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 28. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bryan Stow, the Giants fan who was beaten at Dodger Stadium, is wheeled out of L.A. County-USC Medical Center to be transported to a San Francisco hospital. His family thanked residents of L.A. for an outpouring of support. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

By Corina Knoll, Victoria Kim

July 10, 2014 5:51 AM PT

The nearly $18-million awarded to Giants fan Bryan Stow by a jury on Wednesday was “like a big weight” off the shoulders of his family, his mother said outside court.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Ann Stow said after the verdict was read in Judge Victor E. Chavez’s courtroom. “It was like a big weight off of our shoulders. We waited three years to hear that, and it’s finally over.”

After four weeks of testimony and nine days of deliberations, the trial ended with the jury’s 9-3 finding that the Los Angeles Dodgers share responsibility for Stow’s injuries along with Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood, who were convicted earlier this year of the assault. Former owner Frank McCourt was found not liable for the March 31, 2011, attack.

The Dodgers are on the hook for $13.9 million of the jury’s verdict, according to the ballclub’s attorney.

Led by attorney Thomas Girardi, the plaintiffs alleged the Dodgers and McCourt were to blame because of shoddy security and poor lighting.

Former Dodgers security personnel also testified that the organization was ill-equipped to handle the massive crowd that arrived for opening day in 2011.

Sanchez, who was witnessed harassing fans and spraying soda on a young couple during the game, should have been kicked out long before he ever encountered Stow in the parking lot, Girardi argued.

But the defense countered that opening day that year marked the then-largest security force in the history of Dodger Stadium. They also presented evidence that the Dodgers had increased spending on security every year.

The real culprits, defense attorney Dana Fox said, were Sanchez and Norwood. Stow’s own intoxication that night was also to blame, he said.

Although the jurors found that the Dodgers shared just 25% of the liability for Stow’s injuries, assigning the rest of the blame to his assailants, the organization is responsible under California law for the entirety of his medical bills and lost earnings. The team is required to pay only a quarter of the more than $5 million that jurors said Stow should receive for his pain and suffering.

The Stows, who have stayed in Los Angeles since May, said they were happy that the jury unanimously found that their son was not negligent that night.

“I held my breath when that came up,” Ann Stow said. “We know Bryan is nothing like the defense portrayed him.”