Yancey

Petitioner Patricia A. Yancey was struck on the head by a discus thrown by a classmate during a community college physical education class. This case raises an issue left unaddressed in Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal.4th 296 [ 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 2 , 834 P.2d 696 ]: whether the limited duty of care applicable to coparticipants in such sports as football, baseball, and skating should be applied to coparticipants in a discus class.

Facts

According to the allegations in Yancey’s complaint, she and Sunny Neal (defendant below) were participating in a physical education discus class at Modesto Community College. Yancey threw her discus and walked onto the field to retrieve it. Neal, who was throwing next, failed to observe the field before throwing the discus, failed to warn Yancey he was about to throw, and failed to observe elementary safety precautions before throwing the discus. His “carelessly” thrown discus struck Yancey’s head causing physical and mental injuries.

Procedural History

Yancey sued Neal and others alleging three causes of action for general negligence, products liability, and battery. Neal moved for summary judgment/summary adjudication contending there were…