Agreed judgment orders fitness center to pay father, son $3K

GALVESTON - A personal injury lawsuit pitting a father and his son against a local fitness club was settled just before it was to head to trial, recent court records indicate.

An agreed judgment with Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor's signature was entered into Paul Garza's suit on Nov. 20, effectively disposing the nine-month-old litigation targeting Galveston Racquet Club Inc.

A jury trial was scheduled to begin Dec. 2.

As previously reported, Garza filed suit against the exercise facility on March 19, 2012, stating the defendant did not take measures to prevent his young son from hurting himself at the Galveston Health & Racquet Club on March 18, 2010.

The elder Garza alleged the defendant's daycare staff allowed the boy "to climb atop a blue, plastic covered foam block, approximately 4 feet tall," adding the child “fell and broke his wrist and growth plate” and “may have suffered permanent and disabling injuries as a result of this accident.”

In its defense, the respondent countered that the boy’s supposed injuries were “caused solely by unforeseen or unforeseeable circumstances and/or actions of the plaintiff that were beyond the reasonable control of the defendant” and his father’s complaint was made way past the two-year statute of limitations.

The judgment states Garza and his son are to be compensated $3,000.

Case No. 12-CV-500