USC and a university professor should be dismissed as defendants in a former business student's lawsuit in which she alleges she was severely injured performing a trapeze exercise required of her as an elective while working toward her MBA, university attorneys argue in new court papers.
Jill Johnson's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also names as defendants USC marketing professor Joseph Priester and the Santa Monica Trapeze School LLC. The complaint alleges premises liability, negligence and negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision.
But in court papers filed Monday with Judge Michelle C. Kim, USC lawyers cite numerous defenses, including that Johnson's claims are barred by the statute of limitations, that her damages are the "fault of others" and that any obligations by USC are "excused by an act of God or unforeseen forces" beyond the university's control.
The USC attorneys maintain that Johnson should "take nothing by way of her complaint" and that USC and Priester should be dismissed as defendants.
According to the suit filed Oct. 10, Johnson was a student at USC Marshall School of Business, working to obtain an MBA. She was required to take a number of elective units and enrolled in a course, "Fostering Creativity," in which Priester, as part of the course curriculum, scheduled a group lesson at trapeze school, the suit alleges.
"The goal of this lesson was to help students find their edge and overcome their fears," the suit states.
Priester did not say the trapeze lesson was optional, nor did he provide alternative activities that students could complete, according to the suit.
Johnson told the professor she was concerned about the school's weight limit and whether she would be able to participate, but he replied, "You are in great shape, and the weight will not be an issue," the suit states.
Priester knew that Johnson exceeded the 205-pound weight limit, but still encouraged her to participate, the suit states.
During the second of two exercises, Johnson swung forward, then back, then forward again and tucked her legs and landed on the net after completing the backflip, but she felt one leg crumple beneath her, she could not stand and she saw blood pouring out of her leg, according to the suit.
"What happened to our client is outrageous," plaintiff's attorney Shant Karnikian said previously. "No student should ever feel pressured to engage in an unsafe activity that could result in a devastating injury. USC must answer for its negligence in allowing such dangerous conditions to persist at its institution."
USC owed Johnson an obligation to not expose her to unnecessary risk and to supervise and approve the curriculum of its professors, but she suffered severe physical and emotional injuries, incurred medical costs and experienced past and future lost earnings, the suit alleges.
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