As Currently Required, Court Follows the Fad of Allowing Claims of Recklessness Regardless of the Facts Pled

In the case of Tierney v. Miggy’s Corporation Six, No. 3632-CV-2025 (C.P. Monroe Co. Sept. 10, 2025 Zulick, J.), the court overruled a Defendant’s Motion to Strike allegations of recklessness and punitive damages from the Plaintiff’s slip and fall Complaint.

According to the Opinion, the Plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell on a puddle caused by a leaky air conditioner at the Defendants’ grocery store and sustained injuries as a result. The Plaintiff also claimed, in part, that the puddle in question was caused by the carelessness, recklessness, and negligence of the Defendants. The Plaintiff additionally asserted a claim for punitive damages.

The court followed the current fad of courts allowing general allegations of recklessness to be pled as an allegation of a state mind under Pa. R.C.P. 1019(b). The court noted that the issue of the validity of the claims could be revisited after discovery at the summary judgment stage.

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Source: The Legal Intelligencer Common Pleas Case Alert, www.Law.com (Nov. 20, 2025).