Martin v. Roman Catholic Archbishop

WOOD (Parker), J.

Action for damages for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff George T. Martin, a minor, while he was playing football on school grounds maintained by defendant. Plaintiff George L. Martin, the father of the minor plaintiff, sought recovery of money expended by him for medical care for the minor. The trial judge instructed the jury to return a verdict for defendant. Such a verdict was returned and judgment was entered thereon. Plaintiffs appeal from the judgment and the order denying their motion for a new trial.

George T. Martin, the minor, 14 years of age, was a pupil at the Pius X High School. One afternoon during the week preceding February 19, 1955, after classes for that day had been finished, George and several other pupils (boys) were in their homeroom at the school, where they were to remain for a period of 10 minutes, awaiting the ringing of a bell which would dismiss them for the day. During that period the pupils were in assigned seats. When the bell rang, some of the boys (not George) rushed toward the door and a boy was pushed into a window glass and the glass was broken. The next morning when the boys were in a classroom a teacher told them that they would be punished for breaking the glass and that they should stay after school on week days and pull

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weeds at the football field, or they should go to the football field the following Saturday (February 19) and pull weeds. There was no evidence as to whether some of the boys decided to stay after school on week days or whether all of them decided to go to the field on Saturday. There was no evidence as to the length of time they were to pull weeds or what time on Saturday they should arrive at the field. One of the boys was told to “take roll” to see who came on Saturday. George arrived at the football field about 9 a. m. on Saturday, and no one was pulling weeds. At that time 15 or 20 boys were there getting ready to play football. The boys were pupils at the school but some of them were from a different homeroom of the school. One “side” chose George and then they started playing football. All the boys were about the same size. Some of them were on the regular team of the school. All of them were wearing street clothes—no one was wearing a football uniform, or helmet, or shoulder pads. George had played football and other games previously, but he had not played contact football at that school. On that Saturday he played on the line for a while, blocking the players. Then he played quarterback, running with the ball. While he was running with the ball, holding it with both hands and arms, a player “body-blocked” him or “tossed himself against” or under George’s legs. George fell and broke his left arm. The accident occurred about 15 minutes after they began playing. No supervisor or teacher was present while the boys were playing football. It was a private school. During the part of the school year preceding the day of the accident, George had been working in his father’s television store on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. George testified that he would have worked at the store on Saturday, February 19, if he had not gone to the school on that day; and that he had received permission from his father to go to the school.