Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Sues over indoor soccer “slide tackle”

Michigan: “A Clinton Township attorney injured in a soccer match by an alleged ‘slide tackle’ in violation of recreational game rules says a court decision erroneously gives weekend jocks carte blanche to play too rough.” [Macomb Daily, court of appeals decision in Hlywa v. Liberty Park and Pond (PDF)]

Filed under:

6 Comments


  • “The trend in the last 10 years has been to protect insurance companies,” she said. “Denise Pond was reckless and very negligent when she performed the illegal, flagrant and egregious slide tackle on me during a recreational soccer game.”

    There’s “no crying in baseball”, but there sure is whining in soccer.

    “I get the fact that when you play sports, certain things occur,” she said. “But the rules are in place to protect people. When they are blatantly violated, that’s not expected.”

    Sorry Julie but that is not what the court ruled.

    “She was aware that there was a possibility that she could be kicked, tripped, pushed or shoved,” the panel says. “The facility’s inclusion of slide tackling as a specified foul in the facility’s rules indicates that the conduct is inherent, foreseeable, and within the range of ordinary activity of soccer. … Plaintiff failed to establish that defendant’s conduct exceeded the normal bounds of conduct associated with the activity.”

  • Have a little whine with that cheese?

    • By Doug

  • Important thing I noted is that the ‘illegal’ slide tackle was committed by the opposing goalkeeper. I play keeper in indoor red leagues, and those leagues usually disallow slide tackling. HOWEVER: In every league I’ve played in, goalies are specifically allowed to slide inside their box to go after the ball.
    If this weren’t the case it would seriously undermine a goalie in close-up 1-on-1 situations, so there’s a good reason this is the case. Can’t say for certain without knowing more details but from what I know of indoor soccer it might have been an entirely legal play.

    • By Benji

  • female + blonde + lawyer = three strikes and you are out.

    Oops, wrong sport, but same verdict.

    • By Bumper

  • Bumper, try this: Female + blonde + lawyer = Warning + one yellow card + one yellow card = one red card (ejection).

  • Mel, this has all sorts of possibilities. File a frivolous lawsuit get a yellow card, file another, sit out the next year.

    I like it. If only we could do this for politicians!

    • By Bumper