TIGERS SET TO APPEAL $1M VERDICT FOR INJURED FAN

          Tigers attorney John Hoffman said that the decision to
     award ten-year-old Alyssia Benejam $1M for injuries to her
     hand would "without question" be appealed because of
     "significant legal errors" by Circuit Court Judge Paul
     Teranes, according to Bill McGraw of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. 
     Hoffman said that Teranes "made a number of inflammatory
     comments throughout the trial, such as: 'This happened to a
     little girl; the Tigers should pay.'"  Benejam was six when
     the accident happened.  But McGraw writes that Benejam's
     attorney, James Elliott, "convinced the jury that the Tigers
     were negligent in protecting people at Tiger Stadium."  The
     award was for medical expenses, pain, suffering and lost
     financial opportunities "from deformations in her hand." 
     Team attorney Hoffman said the verdict "erroneously
     insinuates" that the Stadium is unsafe and said that
     Elliott's claim of 80 fan injuries in 2 1/2 years "is so
     overstated" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 10/22).