Major League Baseball

Lawyers: Stow shares blame in attack

Published Oct. 27, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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An attorney for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has filed a civil complaint in an attempt to have blame for the beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow shifted away from the embattled owner and his franchise.

The suit, filed last week, seeks to have liability for the savage beating entirely shifted to those involved in the actual altercation, including Stow himself.

"One of the things the jury will be asked to do is to determine what percentage of fault various individuals have for this event," McCourt's attorney Jerome Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

The Stow family filed a lawsuit against the Dodgers in May, nearly two months after the 42-year-old father-of-two was brutally beaten outside Dodger Stadium on Opening Day. The family's suit seeks $45 million to $50 million needed to provide quality long-term care for Stow, who remains in a rehabilitation facility nearly seven months after the attack.

According to the report, Jackson is requesting a jury to assign percentages of liability for all parties named in the family's suit, which would then be used to divvy up any financial damages awarded to the family.

The two primary targets in Jackson's complaint are Marvin Norwood and Louie Sanchez, the two men currently accused of beating Stow. But the Dodgers' attorney did not shy away from implying Stow possibly shared some of blame for the parking lot attack.

"I've been doing these cases for 23 years, and I have never seen one yet in which it didn't take at least two people to tango," Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "So stay tuned and stand by."

Meanwhile, McCourt remains mired in bankruptcy proceedings, initiated as a last-ditch effort to keep Major League Baseball from wrestling the financially struggling ballclub from his control.

MLB has cited the Stow incident as an example of McCourt's inability to properly manage the Dodgers' operations.

The judge on Wednesday postponed the bankruptcy hearing until late November. The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that McCourt could be using the extra time to pursue a settlement with MLB that would see him forfeit ownership under agreed upon terms.

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