Stanley v. Board of Education

The plaintiff, Sonny David Stanley, was awarded $40,000 by a jury for injuries sustained when he was struck on the head by a baseball bat while in a playground in which the defendant, Board of Education, was conducting its summer recreational program. The defendant contends the following: it was entitled to a directed verdict; an improper instruction was given; it was prejudicial error to admit certain testimony of a purported expert.

During the afternoon of July 16, 1963, the plaintiff was playing either a game of fastpitch or “pinners” (bouncing a ball against the wall), in the Yates…