Thursday, February 23, 2023

Judge Nealon of Lackawanna County Again Upholds Right of Plaintiffs To Plead Recklessness in Every Case


In the case of Brooks v. Griffy, No. 22-CV-3250 (C.P. Lacka. Co. Feb. 3, 2023 Nealon, J.), Judge Terrence R. Nealon of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas continued to trend in this county of overruling Preliminary Objections filed by Defendants against claims of recklessness in personal injury lawsuits, only this time, the court had the additional support to rely upon of the recent Pennsylvania Superior Court decision of Monroe v. CBH20, LP, 286 A.3d 785 (Pa. Super. 2022) (en banc).

Judge Terrence R. Nealon
Lackawanna County

Judge Nealon ruled that, based upon an application of Pa. R.C.P. 1019(b), the separate Superior Court in Archibald v. Kimble, and the more recent Superior Court decision in Monroe, that the Plaintiff’s general allegations of wanton, willful, and reckless conduct, along with the Plaintiff’s related demand for punitive damages, was not subject to a dismissal under Preliminary Objections filed pursuant to Pa. R.C.P. 1028(a)(4).

However, the court did note that a claim for punitive damages should not be set out as a separate Count in a Complaint as it is an element of damages and not a separate cause of action.  As such, the court dismissed a Count in the Plaintiff’s Complaint, in which punitive damages were separately pled as a separate Count, as being procedurally improper. The court allowed the Plaintiff to file an Amended Complaint to otherwise properly list the punitive damages claim in the Complaint.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.

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