Klinsky v. Hanson Van Winkle Munning Co

In Klinsky v. Hanson Van Winkle Munning Co., 38 N.J.Super. 439, 119 A.2d 166 (App.Div.1955), certif. denied, 20 N.J. 534, 120 A.2d 661 (1956), a person standing near a softball field at a facility rented to businesses for summer social functions was hit by a bat that slipped out of the hands of a participant. The Court held that the injured party could maintain a claim against the operator of the facility, because it could not be concluded as a matter of law that "an ordinary person in her position would have realized she was in danger" or that "the danger was a normal, reasonably expectable incident of the situation." Id. at 448, 119 A.2d 661. But in reaching that conclusion, the Court was careful to point out that the facility included not only a softball field but also places for pony rides, a children's playground, volleyball court and refreshment stand, and that the plaintiff was simply standing in an open area near an exit gate that was not demarcated as part of the softball field. Id. at 447-49, 119 A.2d 666.