State college not immune to suit by beaned ballplayer.

A former Rio Hondo Community College baseball player will get another swing at a lawsuit be filed against Citrus Community College after he was struck by a pitch during a game.

An Aug. 27 appellate ruling revives a negligence suit brought by Jose Luis Avila, who was playing against Citrus College in January 2001 when he was beaned by a pitch that cracked his helmet. Avila, 19 at the time, felt dizzy and staggered but received no medical care, according to the ruling.

He sued both the Rio Hondo and Citrus community college districts in December of that year, the ruling says. The claims against Citrus were thrown out in Los Angeles Superior Court on grounds it was not liable for "a person who participates in a hazardous recreational activity." His claims against Rio Hondo are still pending.

But in a split decision, two members of the three-judge 2nd Appellate District panel reversed the lower court's ruling.

Determining that the protections afforded a public entity, Citrus College, were "not intended to affect the relationship between schools and their students," Associate Judge Orville Armstrong, writing for the majority, found more limited application of the immunity statute.

The limits to public liability, he wrote, were "intended to prevent users of public land who chose to engage in hazardous activities such as hang-gliding from suing public entities when they got hurt."

Associate Judge Margaret Grignon dissented, arguing that Citrus should not be liable because Avila was not a student there.

John Allen, a lawyer at Gibeaut Mahan & Briscoe representing Citrus College, said the Glendora school planned to petition the California Supreme Court within the next month to hear the case.

"He was playing baseball, he was an adult. It just happened to be on our public entity's land," he said.

Alan Wisotsky, Avila's attorney, did not return phone calls.

Hispanic Accolades

The Hispanic National Bar Association named L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo attorney of the year on Sept. 6.

The Washington-based association recognized Delgadillo for his newly created neighborhood prosecutor program and immigration fraud strike force. The association represents 25,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges and students throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

Latham Add

Donald Berger, former co-chairman of the real estate practices group at Morrison & Foerster LLP's L.A. office, has joined Latham & Watkins LLP as a partner.

Berger represents institutional lenders and investment banks in financing, acquisition, development, entitlement, construction and leasing of property.

Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at [phone] ext. 225, or at [e-mail].