Lawsuit Against Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District & Softball Coaches Thrown Out

A mother’s lawsuit against the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley school district has been thrown out by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The personal injury suit, originally filed in Cass County District Court by Kathryn Kendrick in 2023, says her daughter got a permanent bump on her forehead after being hit by a bat at a school softball practice in 2017 when the child was nine years old. It alleges the injury was a direct cause of negligence by the coaches supervising the practice and sought damages in the amount of $50,000.

The school district argued both the district and coaches are entitled to official immunity because the coach supervising practice exercised professional judgment and discretion by determining a level of adequate supervision of the softball practice.

A Cass County District judge originally denied the summary judgment, but the three-judge panel in the appellate court overturned the decision, stating in their opinion that the very nature of sports practices requires a near-constant exercise of “significant, independent judgment and discretion” and that failing to give official immunity would place “stifling attention” on the role of coaches and disincentivize from persons holding those positions.