San Jose – The violence has got to end.
At least that was the message Tim Murphy’s attorney Joseph
Scanlan conveyed during a press conference at his office in San
Jose Wednesday.
Murphy, 40, of Hollister, claims he was stripped of Barry Bonds’
historic 700th home run ball after briefly cradling it under his
leg.
San Jose – The violence has got to end.
At least that was the message Tim Murphy’s attorney Joseph Scanlan conveyed during a press conference at his office in San Jose Wednesday.
Murphy, 40, of Hollister, claims he was stripped of Barry Bonds’ historic 700th home run ball after briefly cradling it under his leg. In an effort to get the ball back, he filed a lawsuit in San Francisco County Superior Court on Sept. 27.
Murphy, who was with a group of co-workers at the San Francisco Giants’ game at SBC Park on Sept. 17, yelled to a friend that he caught the historic homer, and according to his attorney, that is why other fans converged on Murphy and stole the ball away.
“That kind of advised the crowd where to go and what to do,” Scanlan said. “At some point the good-natured rush to the ball ends and something else starts. You can’t hit someone over the head with a lead pipe to get the ball. But can you jostle someone? Sure. Can you reach underneath them? We don’t think so.”
San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay ruled on Oct. 1 that there was no clear evidence that justified keeping the ball from being sold by Steve Williams, the Pacifica man who ultimately walked away with ball.
“The film clearly shows that the ball wasn’t rolling around – that he was clearly on top of it,” Scanlan said. “Only after he was jostled around and a hand reached under him did he lose the ball. The way that it was gotten is not permitted or condoned by the law.”
Murphy is suing for the right to the ball or the proceeds from the sale of the ball, according to his attorney. Williams has 30 days to file a response. The ball has an estimated value of more than $100,000.
Scanlan said he doesn’t expect a countersuit but said the decision of who the rightful owner is could take up to a year.
Establishing what is permissible and what isn’t permissible in obtaining a ball is an important issue that needs to be determined by the Giants and Major League Baseball, especially as Bonds approaches Hank Aaron’s and Babe Ruth’s all-time home run records, Scanlan said.
“If someone else has to commit a battery on you – someone else touching you without your permission, to get the ball then they have interfered without your permission,” Scanlan said. “Tim couldn’t move his arms or his legs because of the crowd.”
Murphy had originally contested that he was the rightful owner of the ball because he had a ticket for the section where it hit him and landed and Williams only had a standing-room-only ticket. However, Scanlan said that issue is secondary to how the ball was taken away.
“Even if he had been politely seated next to Mr. Murphy, the heart and soul of the lawsuit is if he had control and if a battery was necessary to get control of the ball. We believe the answer to both is ‘yes.'”
“He’s a died-in-the-wool Giants fan and he’s a big Barry Bonds fan too. That is why he made it to the game,” Scanlan said.
