No Duty of Care Created by Simply Giving a Thumbs Up To Proceed With Cutting Down a Tree

In the case of Miller v. Kinley, No. 22-00349 (C.P. Lyc. Co. June 18, 2024 Carlucci, J.), the court granted a Defendant summary judgment based on a finding that simply given a Plaintiff a “thumbs up” signal during the course of cutting down a tree did not create a duty of care by that Defendant when the tree that the Plaintiff was cutting fell on the Plaintiff.

In this case, the Plaintiff alleged that the Defendants had granted him permission to cut down trees on their property. The Plaintiff alleged that one Defendant, who had transported the Plaintiff to the property, agreed to assist in the removal of the trees by acting as a spotter and a safety coordinator.

The court noted that the Plaintiff failed to support this allegation with his deposition testimony.

The Defendant at issue filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. The court found that the Defendant was entitled to summary judgment because there was no genuine issue of material fact as to any duty owed by that Defendant to the Plaintiff. The court found that no reasonable jury could find that, by giving the Plaintiff a “thumbs up” signal, that Defendant assumed as duty of care to ensure that the Plaintiff safely cut down the tree and stay out of its way as it fell.

Judge Carlucci noted that, under the common law of Pennsylvania, absent a special relationship between the parties, there is no duty to control the conduct of a third party to protect another from harm.


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Source: “The Legal Intelligencer Common Pleas Case Alert” Law.com (Aug. 22, 2024).