Dodgers challenged in court over role in beating

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The hits keep coming for Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and they aren’t the kind that is helping the organization.

The latest off-the-field distraction came Tuesday when the family of a San Francisco Giants fan who was brutally beaten at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day sued the team and McCourt, claiming security cutbacks were partially to blame for the attack.

The suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Bryan Stow contends the Dodgers were negligent by not providing more security and not having adequate lighting in the parking lot where the incident occurred.

Combined, both elements “provided a perfect opportunity to commit a variety of crimes,” the lawsuits states. “Unfortunately, for Bryan Stow, this is exactly what happened.”

Stow, 42, remains in critical but stable condition under heavy sedation to prevent seizures caused by the traumatic brain injury he suffered in the March 31 attack.

Police arrested Giovanni Ramirez, 31, over the weekend but charges have not yet been filed against him. They have not identified a second attacker and a woman suspected of driving the pair from the scene.

Ramirez was being detained on a parole hold, and detectives still had not presented their case to the district attorney’s office.