Bar Stool Trial Over, Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray Not Liable for Damages

We’ve been following this trial for the last week (here and here), so I’ll spare you too much of the details from Bob Murray case in which a women alleged that Ducks GM Bob Murray assaulted her with a bar stool after Anaheim’s elimination from the 2009 playoffs, and instead I’ll jump right to the conclusion.

The jury found that Murray did not assault the woman, Rachel Paris. Instead, the jury concluded, the woman was accidentally hit by a bar stool that Bob Murray had pushed aside  in a hurry to leave the press box both he and Paris occupied. According to the Detroit Free Press, the jury could not award damages without finding Murray guilty of assault due to Paris’s initial lawyer not including a negligence claim in the case. With a negligence claim, damages for Paris’s injuries could have been awarded even though they resulted from an accident. From the Detroit Free Press:

"Paris’ lawyers, Mayer Morganroth and Daniel Harold, said they were handicapped by decisions made by Paris’ previous lawyer, who withdrew from the case late last year. They said he failed to include a negligence count in the lawsuit, which would have enabled the jury to award damages to Paris even if they disagreed about whether Murray assaulted her.“What lawyer doesn’t put a negligence claim in a lawsuit like this?” Morganroth said."

For those that had been following the case, that Murray was cleared of assault did not come as a surprise. The case did not appear to have much weight behind it from the beginning. With it over now, hopefully the Ducks and Murray can refocus on the season ahead.

Jer is ready for Murray’s next thrown bar stool. Follow him on Twitter @JerMeansWell.