Court Unable To Agree That Baseball Fans Assume Risk Of Injury From Hot Dogs Tossed By Mascot.

In Coomer v. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp., a baseball fan brought a lawsuit against the Kansas City Royals after being struck by hot dog thrown by the Royals' mascot.  The trial jury found in favor of the Royals and the fan appealed.  The appeals court found that the trial court's jury instruction (regarding the assumption of risk defense) was improper because it was not supported by substantial evidence that just because the hotdog launch was a customary activity, spectators assumed the risk of injury from tossed hot dogs.