Dodgers File Civil Action Against Accused Bryan Stow Attackers

Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood

​The Los Angeles Dodgers filed papers in court this week, taking civil action against the two men accused of beating Giants fan Bryan Stow into a coma at Dodger Stadium earlier this year.

Stow, who remains in critical condition, and his two children filed a lawsuit on May 24 against Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt and 13 team entities, claiming shoddy security was partly to blame for the horrific Mar. 31 beating. Louie Sanchez, 29, and Marvin Norwood, 30, have been charged in the beating incident.

The Dodgers' attorneys told reporters that the team took the civil action against the two suspects as part of its overall defense in the lawsuit.
"It's really a tactical move by the Dodgers," said NBC LA Legal Analyst Royal Oakes. "It's an attempt to try to send a message to a judge or jury that in spite of Stow's allegations of poor security,  poor lighting, poor response time -- that in fact the real reason for Stow's injuries rests with the criminals who assaulted him."

They also said they expect that both Sanchez and Norwood will refuse to testify in depositions. "The [team's] inability to conduct meaningful [inquiries] of those individuals' acts and conduct will hamper the defendants' ability to prepare and present a defense in this case,'' the Dodgers' court papers state.