I think that the Crespin court is correct in its assertion in paragraph 13 that the question before us concerns the concept of breach of duty. New Mexico is one of the many states to adopt a form of comparative negligence, yet courts still draw on assumption of risk in baseball foul ball (or in this case a fair ball hit into a picnic area during batting practice) cases. The court looked at the baseball rule that basically immunizes a defendant if a screened area behind home plate is properly maintained and fans are provided access to such seating. In my class I ask students what they think about requesting that they be allowed to purchase a ticket for a protected screen area. Most of them laugh at the idea that these choice seats must be provided by the team if a fan says that it is the teams responsibility in discharging this duty to allow the fan to purchase a ticket for an area often allocated to season ticket holders. more…