Before you take a swing at that guy...

[hockeymom 2]

This story was carried in the Globe and Mail today, where a beer leaguer was fined over $20,000 for taking a punch at an opponent...

It was the sort of chance collision that happens all the time in recreational hockey games across the country, but Andrew Dunn decided to take umbrage and throw a punch at his opponent.

Yesterday, an Ontario judge affixed a $20,547 price tag on his punch, ruling that it was the sort of "violent, unprovoked attack" that has no place in a recreational hockey game.

In a ruling that serves as a cautionary tale for the crowded ranks of casual hockey players who suit up and hit the local rink, Ontario Superior Court Judge Wailan Low awarded Marc Leonard almost $8,000 in special damages to fix the two teeth Mr. Dunn knocked out.

Judge Low added $10,000 in general damages to reflect Mr. Leonard's pain and inconvenience, and added a further $3,000 in aggravated damages to teach Mr. Dunn a lesson for his mean-spirited refusal to apologize or admit having done wrong.

"However fraught with potential for injury, hockey is nevertheless a sport; a contest of skill and strategy to be carried out in competitive, but sportsmanlike, manner," Judge Low said. "It is not a barroom brawl."

Judge Low rejected defence lawyer Joseph Ziemba's argument that fights can be expected to break out from time to time even in no-contact games.

"That evidence was a red herring," he said. "This was not a fight. It was a unilateral attack . . . . It is difficult to envisage how a punch to the plaintiff's face could possibly serve to assist in scoring a goal or in preventing the plaintiff or his team from scoring a goal in the circumstances."

Judge Low specified that Mr. Dunn could not hide behind an injury waiver that every player in his league was required to sign.

"When a player signs the game sheet agreeing to the terms of the waiver, he is assuming the risks inherent in playing the game -- he is not volunteering to be the recipient of a battery," Judge Low said.

The incident took place on the evening of Feb. 5, 2004, at a rink in Aurora, Ont., a suburban community north of Toronto. Mr. Leonard's team, the Rangers, were playing against Mr. Dunn's team -- the Wild Hogs.

Judge Low emphasized the unremarkable nature of the game and the players on each team. He said that Mr. Leonard, 35, is a portly billiard-hall manager with four children who "is neither a very fast skater nor an aggressive player."

Mr. Dunn, 26, is a landscaper who lives with his parents. "He plays forward and is a good player and a top scorer," Judge Low noted.

He conceded that even in 'no-contact' leagues, it is not unusual for players to accidentally collide but rejected Mr. Dunn's defence that he was not liable because Mr. Leonard had assumed the risk of injury when he signed a waiver.

All recreational players are aware they can potentially suffer injuries, Judge Low said.

However, he said that he was unwilling to find "that an unprovoked battery unrelated to the advancement of the game is an element of the reasonable expectations of an adult recreational hockey player playing in this non-contact league."

[DarkStar50 679]

This article should be handed out to every adult league player at the start of each and every season. It might make the usual knucklehead think twice before he throws a punch. Bravo to the judge for making this decision.

[pantherfan 0]

I agree how can an accidental collision make a guy knock your 2 front teeth out.

I also think he should move out of his parents house. :D

Editted

[Fire0nIce228 1]

They accidently bumped into eachother and then the one dude decided to punch the other dude.

Thats how I take it.

[DarkStar50 679]

Oh, BTW, this is why I don't play adult league hockey. I prefer to play with my friends who know we are all there to have some fun, sweat, and have a few adult beverages after the game. I am too old to keep score like it matters.

[chikinpotpie 137]

That is also why I won't play in the "organized" winter leagues. It is so much more fun when you aren't lining up against someone who thinks that the cup in on the line or that there are scouts in the stands. I think that a slash to the back of the knees would have been just as effective and would have fallen in the "element of the reasonable expectations of an adult recreational hockey player playing in this non-contact league" category.

[chippa13 1844]

This is a brutal ruling. While punches are rarely thrown in the leagues I play in, it does happen from time to time. What's next, a guy hooks someone down who tweaks his knee on the way down and sues?

[chippa13 1844]

That is also why I won't play in the "organized" winter leagues. It is so much more fun when you aren't lining up against someone who thinks that the cup in on the line or that there are scouts in the stands. I think that a slash to the back of the knees would have been just as effective and would have fallen in the "element of the reasonable expectations of an adult recreational hockey player playing in this non-contact league" category.

What exactly is the difference between the chop in the back of the knees and the punch?

This should be good.

[DarkStar50 679]

What part of lost two front teeth did you miss? I think that is a big difference right there. If its not to you, come on down and I'll swing the lumber at your gums!

[chikinpotpie 137]

I wasn't talking about a baseball swing but just enough of a slash to let them know you are there. Also, slashing is a part of the game that falls within common boundaries of the game.

[DarkStar50 679]

Chikin, I was asking chippa, not you about the missing teeth part. However, if slashing to you is within the "common boundaries" of the game and essentially pick-up hockey for you, since thats your flavor, I would appreciate a "heads-up" should we ever skate together. The slash coming back at you from the other guy may not be so friendly.

[chippa13 1844]

I wasn't talking about a baseball swing but just enough of a slash to let them know you are there. Also, slashing is a part of the game that falls within common boundaries of the game.

So does a punch.

[chippa13 1844]

Chikin, I was asking chippa, not you about the missing teeth part. However, if slashing to you is within the "common boundaries" of the game and essentially pick-up hockey for you, since thats your flavor, I would appreciate a "heads-up" should we ever skate together. The slash coming back at you from the other guy may not be so friendly.

Slashing is verboten in pickup.

[DarkStar50 679]

I wasn't talking about a baseball swing but just enough of a slash to let them know you are there. Also, slashing is a part of the game that falls within common boundaries of the game.

So does a punch.

Where do you play? I know some guys who would like to line-up next to you. They are un-employed, bored, and looking for some fun. They also have hands the size of meat cleavers.

[mack 44]

If slashing is accepted then why is it a penalty?

[chippa13 1844]

I wasn't talking about a baseball swing but just enough of a slash to let them know you are there. Also, slashing is a part of the game that falls within common boundaries of the game.

So does a punch.

Where do you play? I know some guys who would like to line-up next to you. They are un-employed, bored, and looking for some fun. They also have hands the size of meat cleavers.

Ease up on the testerone there, captain. A punch falls in the range of a common occurrence in hockey just the same way a slash does. As you'll see in my above post, while it doesn't happen that often, it does happen.

[chippa13 1844]

If slashing is accepted then why is it a penalty?

There is a penalty because while you're not supposed to do it, it is expected that someone will.

[mack 44]

That was my point because I was trying to see what the difference was between punching someone and slashing someone in a game was. You summed it up already though.

[stick9 896]

Why is it every time I see an on ice inncident taken to court it's in Canada?

A slash can do far more damage then a punch. I'm not going to one punch KO anyone, but I bet ya I can slash em good enough to leave the rink and seek medical attention.

[DarkStar50 679]

chippa13, I hope you have 20K as loose change. Somehow, I doubt it.

BTW, where do you play? Give it up.

[chippa13 1844]

I ply my trade in Mass/NH.

[kosydar 0]

chippa13, I hope you have 20K as loose change. Somehow, I doubt it.

BTW, where do you play? Give it up.

You'll learn that Chippa bounces from topic to topic in order to disagree with whoever he can.

[chippa13 1844]

When people are wrong, yes, it can happen.

[DarkStar50 679]

No problem kosydar. Massachusetts already put one hockey dad in the slammer for murder because he didn't like the way his kid was treated on the ice. I'm sure they have more room at Lawrence Correctional.

[chippa13 1844]

No problem kosydar. Massachusetts already put one hockey dad in the slammer for murder because he didn't like the way his kid was treated on the ice. I'm sure they have more room at Lawrence Correctional.

Nice to see you don't blow things out of proportion. Well done.