Kickball Injury Claims Against School Kicked Out of Court

In the case of Turner v. Lower Merion School District, No. 657 C.D. 2023 (Pa.Cmwlth. May 10, 2024 Wojcik, J., Wallace, J., Leavitt, S.J.)(Op. by Wallace, J.), the court affirmed the trial court’s decision in a personal injury case arising out of a kickball game at a school.   

The Commonwealth Court held that the Plaintiff’s lawsuit did not fall within the real property exception to governmental immunity where the Plaintiff’s claims stemmed from an injury caused by personalty rather than realty. More specifically, the case involved a temporary kickball base that was not affixed to the ground and which slid out from under the high school student during a physical education class.   

As such, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the trial court's entry of a judgment on the pleadings in favor of the Defendant based upon governmental immunity and kicked the case out of court.

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

Source:  Law.com, “The Legal Intelligencer State Appellate Case Alert” (May 29, 2024)

Commonwealth Court Allows Pro Se Prisoner's Slip and Fall Claim To Go Forward

In the case of Pritchard v. Meintell, No. 49 C.D. 2022 (Pa. Cmwlth. Jan. 10, 2024 Jubelirer, P.J., Cannon, J., and Ceisler, J.) (Op. by Jubelirer, P.J.), the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reversed in part and affirmed in part a lower court’s decision sustaining a Defendant’s demurrer to a prisoner pro se Plaintiff’s slip and fall action on the basis of sovereign immunity.

According to the Opinion, the appellate court found that the trial court erred in finding that the real estate exception did not apply. The trial court was also found to have erred in ruling that sovereign immunity barred the pro se prisoner’s action for his slip and fall injuries.

The court noted that, in alleging that the Defendants failed to maintain the slip/resistant surface on which he slipped, the inmate had adequately alleged an injury that was caused by a dangerous condition of Commonwealth real estate.

The court otherwise found that the inmate’s other negligence claim that were not connected to the negligent maintenance claim were barred under Pennsylvania law.

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


Source: “Digest of Recent Opinions.” Pennsylvania Law Weekly (Jan. 30, 2024).

Real Property Exception To Immunity Found Inapplicable in School Injury Case

In the case of Kilroy v. Owen J. Roberts School District, No. 2018-09778-TT (Jan. 11, 2021 Sommer, J.), the court granted a school district’s Motion for Summary Judgment in a premises liability case based upon an application of the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, 42 Pa. C.S.A. §8541.

According to the Opinion, the Plaintiff alleged that the minor Plaintiff’s thumb was injured on a metal shelf while the minor was attempting to block a ball being thrown in a boy’s bathroom.

The Plaintiffs were attempting to rely upon the real property exception to defeat the claim of immunity asserted by the school.

After reviewing the current status of Pennsylvania law on whether a chattel, such as a shelf, is real property or personal property, the court noted that the shelf in question was attached to the wall with six (6) small screws. It was noted that the shelf could be removed with a simple screwdriver, an electric screwdriver, or a power drill in a matter of seconds or minutes depending on the apparatus used.

The court found that the shelf was intended to be easily removed for purposes of replacement without damaging the property itself.

It was also noted that there was no evidence presented that the bathroom had been physical altered to accommodate the metal shelf, or that the metal shelf had to remain in its location.

Based upon these findings, the could held that the shelf was personalty, and not a fixture. As such, the court found that the facts did not fall under the real property exception.  Accordingly, the court granted the school district summary judgment based upon the immunity provided by the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act.

 

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

Source: “Digest of Recent Opinions.”  Pennsylvania Law Weekly (July 20, 2021).