Arena Altercation — Fox, Badger, and Finch Claims

Mr. Fox and Ms. Badger were avid fans of rival basketball teams. They were seated next to each other at a championship game at Vultures Arena. Throughout the game, they exchanged heated words. With the score tied in the final minute, Fox became enraged at Badger's taunts. He stood up, shouted, "I'm going to knock you out!" and threw the contents of his large soda cup at Badger, soaking her jersey. The cold liquid startled her but caused no physical injury. Fox then clenched his fists and lunged toward Badger as if to throw a punch. Fearing an imminent blow, Badger, who had been a college athlete, stood and forcefully pushed Fox in the chest with both hands. Fox, who was off-balance from his lunge, stumbled backward over a seat and fell to the ground, suffering a fractured arm.

During halftime, another spectator, Mr. Finch, was browsing in the arena's official merchandise store. He tried on an expensive team jacket, looked at himself in a mirror for a moment, and then placed the jacket back on its rack. As Finch, who was wearing a hat from the opposing team, turned to leave the store without buying anything, he was stopped by Mr. Owl, a uniformed security guard employed by Vultures Arena. A different patron had just run out of the store with a stolen jersey from the same display area. Believing Finch was the thief, Owl grabbed Finch by the arm and said, "You're coming with me." Owl escorted Finch to a small, windowless security office in a back hallway and locked the door. Owl left Finch in the room for two hours without questioning him or allowing him to contact anyone. After reviewing security footage, Owl realized his mistake, unlocked the door, and released Finch with a brief apology. The final score of the game was 101 to 100.