Attorneys

Carla Varriale is a litigator who has represented Major League Baseball teams and players, minor league teams and clients in the recreation and sports industries. Carla writes and lectures on various issues of interest to sports, recreation and entertainment venues, including water parks and amusement parks. She has appeared as a legal commentator on Court TV Radio and FoxNews’ Cases and Cops.

Carla counsels entities with self-insured retentions regarding methods to minimize exposure and to develop successful risk management and litigation strategies, particularly those related to promotional activities and security issues.

She received her undergraduate degree from Boston University in 1988 and her Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1992. At New York Law School, Carla was a member of the Moot Court Executive Board and the Order of the Barristers. She has been named to the Advisory Board for the University of New Haven's Green Sports Facility Society. Carla is a member of the faculty at Columbia University's School of Continuing Education, where she teaches “Sports Law and Ethics.”

Carla, who is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association, is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut, and before United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Publications

• Settlement in “Enforced Patriotism” Case Commenced by New Jersey Teens Against The Newark Bears
  Sports Litigation Alert (2009)

• Court Holds That High School Cheerleading Is A Contact Sport — Providing Immunity For Teammate And School District
  Sports Litigation Alert (2009)
• Author,  Introduction to Chapter 12, Legal/Risk Management, Sport Facility Management (Second Edition, Gil Fried, Esq., 2009)

• Professional Baseball Team Snags Victory in Personal Injury Action
  Sports Litigation Alert (2008)

• New Jersey’s Highest Court Applies Limited Duty of Care in Hockey Spectator Injury Case
  Sports Litigation Alert (2008)
• That’s the Ticket . . .
  What’s Next for the Ticketing
  Industry After Ticketmaster v.
  RMG Techs., Inc.
  ABA Entertainment and Sports Lawyer (2008)
• The Covenant of Security: Don't 'Pass the Ball', It's an Opportunity for Owners and Operators of Sports Arenas
  Sports Litigation Alert (2006)
• New Jersey Supreme Court Crafts Hybrid Rule for Injured Patrons at Baseball Stadiums
  Sports Litigation Alert (2006)
• Don’t “Assume” Anything: Avoiding and Defending Negligence Actions When Spectators Harm Spectators
  Stadium Manager (2006)
• Liability In Spectator Injury Cases: The Risk Has Changed, Will The Law
  Amusement Business (2006)

Presentations and Media Appearances

• 99 Bottles of Beer in the Law: Legal Issues Related to Alcohol Management
  Lawline (2010)

• Is It Fair or Foul?
  Lawline (2009)

• Year in Review
  FoxNews’ Cops and Cases (2009)

• Do you have to stand for “America the Beautiful?”  and can you sue the team if you are hit by a baseball?
  (Bulldog and The Rude Awakening Show, WOCM-FM 98.1, November 2009)
• Where Does Your Liability Start?
  (IAAM International Crowd Management Conference, November 2009)
• Risk Management in Sports: Business Interruption, Event Cancellation, and the SAFETY Act
  (The ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports, October 2009)
• Legal Issues Panel Discussion
  (IAAM Annual Conference and Tradeshow, July 2009)
• Current Issues In Sports Law
  (University of New Haven, March 2009)
• Two Tickets to Paradise
  (Billboard Touring Magazine Conference Awards, November 2008)
• Protecting Your Campers, Protecting Your Camp
  (Tri-State Camp Conference, March 2008)
• Venues and Premises Liability
  (2008 Stadium Managers Association, February 2008)
• International Sports Law
  (London, England, December 2007)
• Avoiding Liability as an Owner/Operator of a Sports or Recreation Facility
  (Athletic Business Conference & Expo, November 2007)
• Craig Kelly Sport & Entertainment Law Symposium
  (University of South Carolina, November 2007)
• Spectator Liability Issues; Using an Expert Witness
  (International Conference on Sport and Entertainment Business (ICSEB), November 2007)
• International Association of Assembly Managers, July 2007
• Protecting the Crowd, Protecting the Venue:
  The Tinderbox of Stadium Liability
  (Stadium Managers Association Annual Seminar, February 2007)
• Craig Kelly Sport & Entertainment Law Symposium
  (University of South Carolina, November 2006)