In
the case of Kuehner v. Abdulqader,
No. 2018-CV-4215 (C.P. Lacka. Co. Feb. 15, 2019 Nealon, J.), the court
addressed Preliminary Objections filed by a trucking Defendant seeking the
dismissal of allegations of “gross, wanton, and reckless conduct” along with
the accompanying claims for punitive damages as set forth in the Plaintiff’s
Complaint.
After
reviewing the standard of review for a demurrer, the court ruled that the
Defendant’s Preliminary Objections were overruled.
The
court noted that the Plaintiff asserted that she was operating a vehicle and
making a left hand turn when the Defendant tractor trailer driver drove his
vehicle into the Plaintiff’s lane of travel and caused the injury and allegedly
serious personal injuries to the Plaintiff.
Among the more specific allegations asserted by the Plaintiff in support
of claims of gross, wanton, and reckless conduct included allegations that the
tractor trailer driver was operating his vehicle when he was so fatigued so as
to make it unsafe for him to operate his vehicle in violation of federal code
provisions, operating his vehicle in excess of the applicable hours of service
allowed under the federal code, and operating his vehicle in conscious disregard of
his fatigued condition.
The Plaintiff also alleged that the tractor trailer driver was reckless by failing to document his travel in daily logs as required
by law, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and failure to
observe proper rest and driving intervals as required by the same law.
Reviewing the Complaint as a whole and in
the light most favorable to the Plaintiff, the court overruled the Preliminary
Objection asserted in the nature of a demurrer.
The court noted that the defense retained
the right to revisit the issue after the conclusion of discovery by way of a
Motion for Summary Judgment.
Anyone
wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.
I
send thanks to Attorney Kevin Conaboy for bringing this decision to my
attention.
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