Batting cage facility cleared in abuse claims against coaches

A St. Louis County jury found that a batting cage center in Ellisville was not liable for the alleged abuse of a teenage softball player whose team practiced at the facility.

The player, referred to in the suit as Jane Doe, had asked the jury to award as much as $60 million in damages against Phoenix 4 LLC, the owners of the Bullpen Brothers facility where the St. Louis Stix softball team practiced. John Schultz of Franke Schultz & Mullen, the lead attorney for the defense, said jurors returned a defense verdict after an hour of deliberations at the end of the three-day trial.

Doe alleged that two coaches, Aaron Byington and Alexander Wolters, had repeated sexual contact with her beginning in 2020 when she was 17. Her suit argued that the facility should not have allowed them to have unsupervised contact her with.

Byington and Wolters, as well as the Kirkwood Sports Association, reached a confidential settlement with Doe prior to trial, leaving only the negligence claims against Phoenix 4. The defendant argued at trial that it was unaware of any allegations against the coaches and that nothing in their backgrounds indicated any concerns. It also argued that it didn’t employ the coaches and that the alleged abuse took place in areas of the building it didn’t control.

No appeal was filed. Daniel DeFeo, an attorney for the plaintiff, said the pre-trial settlements with the alleged perpetrators left an “empty chair” that allowed the defense to shift blame to the coaches.

“They gave us no choice but to try it,” he said. “We’d try it again if we had the opportunity.”

A similar but separate suit was filed in August against the coaches involving a different player who practiced at another location.

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Defense verdict

Personal injury

Venue: St. Louis County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 22SL-CC00703/Sept. 14, 2023

Judge: Ellen Ribaudo

Caption: Jane Doe v. Phoenix 4 LLC

Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Daniel DeFeo and Erika Dopuch, The DeFeo Law Firm, Kansas City; Steven Stolze, Holland Law, St. Louis

Defendant’s Attorneys: John Schultz, Michael Bub and Sarah Washburn, Franke Schultz & Mullen, Kansas City