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Posted on 04/04/2012 8:47:27 AM PDT by marktwain
Owners of a South Side gun range lost another battle in a legal war with neighboring Mission Del Lago golf course Tuesday when a judge cleared the way for course operator Municipal Golf Association-SA to continue its effort to shut down part of the range.
And as A Place to Shoot gun range and the MGA-SA wrangle over an injunction that seeks to cease rifle fire at the Pleasanton Road business, the golfer whose gunshot wound to the chest prompted the allegations of unsafe conditions has stepped into the fray by suing both parties.
Justo Flores, 31, alleges that the owners of A Place to Shoot, the MGA-SA, employees at Mission Del Lago golf course and the City of San Antonio are all at fault for the incident March 4, when he was struck by a stray bullet while playing the course's 12th hole, according to court documents.
On March 14, two days after two golf course employees claimed to hear a rifle shot and feel a bullet whiz by, the MGA-SA filed a request for an injunction along with an application for a temporary restraining order to close the rifle section of the range.
It is the only section of A Place to Shoot that points in the golf course's direction. A district judge granted the order that same day.
With all sides placing blame, it has not been determined where the stray bullet originated.
Police Chief William McManus has said an in-depth investigation could not determine the bullet's origin and said there was no way to tell if it came from the range. Mitchell Lake separates the properties, and the golf course is also abutted to the south by wooded property known for hunting.
William Allan, Flores' attorney, said they expected to prove the bullet came from the gun range by also “pointing out to the public how grossly negligent both parties are.”
Attorneys for A Place to Shoot didn't return calls seeking comment about the lawsuit or the most recent development on the injunction.
Lawyers for the shooting range had argued last week that the golf association didn't have the jurisdiction to sue. They cited a state statute that forbids cities or counties from regulating shooting ranges established before Sept. 1, 2011, and that prevents local governments from suing ranges without the Legislature's permission.
That restriction should apply to the golf association, a public/private partnership created by the City of San Antonio to manage its municipal golf courses, the attorneys said.
District Court Judge Renée McElhaney disagreed and Tuesday denied the plea to have the case thrown out. The next step is a hearing to determine if the golf association can get a temporary injunction, a step beyond the temporary restraining order.
Golf association CEO and President Jim Roschek said in a news release Tuesday that for now, “Mission del Lago is open and we believe our employees and patrons are safe from A Place to Shoot's rifle shots.”
Allan said the fact the MGA-SA is fighting so hard to keep the rifle section closed proves it believes the shots came from there even though it has said the origin couldn't be known.
The golf association is guilty of gross negligence, court documents argue, alleging the golf operators knew about previous stray bullet complaints and lied to Flores after he was shot, telling him they did not know of any concerns before March 4.
Representatives of the golf course offered “a few rounds of golf to make everything go away,” the documents claim.
Flores is seeking up to $750,000 in damages.
mmondo@express-news.net
What is the purpose of protecting ranges from lawsuit, when a judge simply says the law doesn't apply?
People do fire over the backstops, I’ve seen that happen.
Two miles though? Would you be able to hear the gunshot from that far away under these conditions. Forget about the bullet going that far.
that’s a great course, 12th hole has a few hazards...
A high-powered rifle bullet could go 3 miles easily. You’d have to point the weapon up to nearly a 45 degree angle though. A bullet fired at or near the horizontal can only travel as far as its velocity can carry it while it is falling toward the ground at 32 ft/second squared.
The sound of a rifle being fired could carry two miles, especially if the wind is right. However, it is likely that the bullet would arrive at the point of impact long before the sound did. Subsonic bullets, again, won’t get far if they are fired at or near the horizontal. Bottom line is it is serious misconduct or seriously bad range construction if a shooter fires over or through a backstop.
I make no judgement about whether the round that hit the golfer came from the range. However, if the club isn’t supervising its members shooting practices, then they are wrong and liable. Sometimes people do stupid things on a range if standards are not enforced, especially by and among the shooters themselves.
It is really too funny ~
NOTE: Spent some time on an observation point overlooking the East German border years ago. The Russians had an artillery range about 5 miles away where they'd do live fire exercises at night with short load rounds.
It can be unnerving when it's aimed your way.
Still, think of the new sporting possibilities ~ GOLF BALL SKEET SHOT. Maybe a little 9-MM wedgies? Par 0 holes ~ the foursomes go out but they don't come back!
What happens when somebody at the rifle range gets hit by a golf ball? In real life, golf balls are significantly harder to control than bullets.
sure! and working on your ‘handicap’ takes on a whole new meaning
The bullet hazard.
Bag limit ~ "Hole in only one".
you’ll need artillery support if you’re stuck in a bunker
18 holes is a ‘tour of duty’...
I have been on ranges where it is impossible to fire over the backstop from the firing points. This is done with overhead cover so as to preclude that possibility. I do not know if the range in question is constructed that way.
The first question I would be asking is which one was there first, the gun range or the golf course?
If the range was there first, case dismissed the course is libel due to poor due diligence in making sure they were in a safe location.
If the golf course was there first, then you go to the range and see if it is even possible for a shot to get off range.
You ever play golf in Berlin? I'm not a golfer but got shanghaied to play in a charity tournament once when stationed there. I think the front 9 was right along the Wall and the back 9 snug up against the front 9.
Made for some interesting hooks and slices :)
Any of these stories mentioned the caliber of the bullet yet?
Mission Del Lago was there long before A Place To Shoot.
“The first question I would be asking is which one was there first, the gun range or the golf course?”
Someone was shot, who was there first doesn’t matter.
I would agree if it was a noise based concern.
Now, if you were one of these complainants, why would you want to spoil things with the introduction of objective fact? I have not seen any mention of caliber, bullet type, or weight.
The course at Pan Mun Jom is far more challenging :-)
Here is a link to an article with a bit more information and a map:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2868170/posts?page=1
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