Dodgers: Giants fan may share blame in attack

LOS ANGELES - Two men accused of brutally beating San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow in a Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day should be held liable for potentially tens of millions of dollars in a family lawsuit, an attorney who represents the team and its owner said Thursday.

Lawyer Jerome Jackson filed a cross-complaint last week that argues Marvin Norwood and Louis Sanchez — not the Dodgers- are to blame for the brain damage that Stow suffered in March. Both Norwood and Sanchez have pleaded not guilty to one count each of mayhem, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and battery with serious bodily injury.

Jackson also predicted that if the case goes to trial, jurors could decide that Stow himself shares some of the blame.

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

"One of the things the jury will be asked to do is to determine what percentage of fault various individuals have for this event," Jackson told the website. "You're saying to the jury, `They (the Stow family) are saying we're 100% liable. But does that mean (Marvin) Norwood and (Louis) Sanchez who beat this guy up, have no liability? And does it mean Mr. Stow himself has no liability?"'

"We want all the defendants and all the facts before the court," Jackson told The Associated Press.

Stow's negligence and liability lawsuit, filed earlier this year and before Norwood and Sanchez were arrested, only blames the Dodgers organization and owner Frank McCourt for the attack, alleging poor lighting and security problems at the ballpark. The cross-complaint adds Stow's alleged attackers as defendants.

Jackson said the outrage that ensued after the attack toward McCourt has been misdirected.

"If these two suspects are indeed found guilty, I think most people would agree they bear some financial responsibility," Jackson said. "It wasn't Mr. McCourt out there beating people up in the parking lot."

A call to Stow family attorney Tom Girardi wasn't immediately returned.

Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic from Santa Cruz, suffered serious brain injuries during the attack. He was recently moved from San Francisco General Hospital to a rehabilitation center.

Beaten Giants fan making progress in rehab

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware earlier this year and Stow's representatives sit on the official committee of creditors. Girardi has contended his client's medical bills could exceed $50 million.

The creditors' committee and Fox Sports each asked a judge to deny the Dodgers' bid to auction television rights, which is key to McCourt's strategy to emerge from bankruptcy as the team's owner.

A four-day evidentiary hearing pitting the Dodgers against Major League Baseball and slated to begin on Monday has been pushed back to late November.