Shin v. Ahn (California)
(Golfer Learns Lesson About Standing in Front of Another golfer Teeing Off; Court Allows Case to Proceed to Trial on Issue of Reckless Conduct)
The plaintiff was golfing in a threesome. He took a shortcut from one hole to the other, which placed him in front of the defendant and to the defendant’s left. Plaintiff stopped at that point to get a bottle of water out of his golf bag and to check his cell phone for messages. He did so even though he knew (1) that he was in front of the tee box, (2) that defendant was preparing to tee off, and (3) that he should stand behind a player who was teeing off. The defendant golfer inadvertently “pulled” his tee shot to the left, hitting plaintiff in the temple. The plaintiff brought a negligence action against other golfer. The parties disputed whether the defendant golfer knew where plaintiff was standing when he teed off. The plaintiff alleged that he and defendant made eye contact before defendant hit his shot, but his accounts of just when that eye contact occurred appeared to be inconsistent and in dispute.
