[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 31 (Thursday, February 16, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1510
     FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS IMPACT AMATEUR SPORTS, LEGAL REFORM NEEDED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bunning). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Christensen] is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Mr. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I read with great interest an editorial 
found in Monday's Wall Street Journal article by Creighton Hale.
  Mr. Hale is the CEO of Little League Baseball and he made a very good 
case for the need for legal reform.
  One example he gave was this:
  Imagine the situation: The batter hits a pop fly to center, but your 
centerfielder is playing the position for the first time. He moved 
there because the regular kid has the flu. The pop fly hits him in the 
eye.
  As the coach, what do you do?
  Pull the infield in and play for the plate?
  Call time and head for the pitcher's mound?
  How about try calling a lawyer?
  You see, in a real life case similar to the one just described, the 
centerfielder's parents filed suit against the coach who stationed 
their child under the ill-fated pop fly. They sought compensation for 
pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages.
  In another case described by Mr. Hale was litigation that resulted 
from two boys colliding in the outfield.
  They picked each other up--and then sued the coach.
  Another player sued when a stray dog intruded on the field of play 
and bit him.
  And in one of the most outrageous cases I have heard of a woman won a 
cash settlement when she was hit by a ball that a player failed to 
catch.
  The irony here is that the player was her own daughter.
  The Little League has seen its liability insurance skyrocket 1,000 
percent over a 5-year period. From $75 per league annually to $795 per 
league.
  We, in effect, have asked little league coaches to take on major 
league liability risk.
  Our legal reform umbrella must cover civil defendants of all stripes 
whether it be the Little League team that plays in the park down the 
street or the large corporation that employs the little leaguer's 
parents.
  Frivolous litigation has reached the point that we cannot even 
measure it with dollars anymore.
  Already the special interests are mobilizing to stop any attempt to 
help the Little Leaguers and Girl Scouts.
  George Bushnell, president of the American Bar Association, has 
resorted to name calling.
  The rules of this body will not even allow me to repeat what he 
called congressional Members who would dare attempt legal reform of 
this nature.
  I say we have struck a nerve.
  We are not here to pander to the special interest within the legal 
community.
  Rather, we are here to enact real legal reform for the American 
people.
  And reform we shall have.

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