PA Supreme Court Rules that Parents Cannot Bind Children to an Agreement to go to Arbitration

In the case of Shultz v. Skyzone, No. 25 EAP 2023 (Pa. Sept. 25, 2025) (Op. by Donohue, J.), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a parent who signs an Arbitration Agreement cannot bind a non-signing spouse or a minor child to its terms.

This matter arose out of claims that several minors were injured at trampoline parks operated by Skyzone in Philadelphia. In each instance, only one (1) parent signed a “Participation Agreement, Release, and Assumption Of The Risk” on behalf of their child, which included an arbitration provision waiving the right to sue in court.

After the injuries, both the signing and non-signing parents, along with the injured minors, filed lawsuits seeking personal injury damages. The Defendant filed Petitions to Compel Arbitration, relying upon the signed Agreements.

The trial court denied these Petitions, finding that the Agreements were enforceable only against the signing parents. The Superior Court affirmed, holding that neither the non-signing parents nor the minors were bound by the Arbitration provisions.

As noted, on further appeal, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the Orders of the Superior Court. The Supreme Court held that parents lacked the authority to bind a minor to an agreement to arbitrate, as this would deprive the minor of judicial protections and oversight designed to safeguard their interests. As noted above, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court also held that a parent who signs an Arbitration Agreement cannot bind a non-signing parent, or minor child, to its terms.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.  Justice Brobson's Concurring and Dissenting Opinion can be viewed HERE.


The Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down the same decision in the consolidated case of Santiago v. Philly Trampoline Park, No. 24 EAP 2023 (Pa. Sept. 25, 2025) (Op. by Donohue, J.). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in this case can be viewed at this LINK.  Justice Brobson's Concurring and Dissenting Opinion can be viewed HERE.


Source: Justia Daily Opinion Summaries, www.justia.com (Sept. 26, 2025).

Source of image: Photo by Ben Moses M on www.unsplash.com.

Court Dismisses Negligent Entrustment Claim Against Parents Relative to Use of Cell Phone by Child

In the case of JH v. Dunmore School District, No. 3:24-CV-1154 (M.D. Pa. Aug. 8, 2025 Munley, J.), Judge Julia K. Munley of the Federal Middle District Court of Pennsylvania addressed various Motions to Dismiss filed by different Defendants relative to a case involving allegations that certain middle school student allegedly recorded a minor Plaintiff who was on the autism spectrum, inside a bathroom stall at the school and then allegedly disseminating that video to other students who also allegedly shared the video with others.

Among the claims presented by the Plaintiffs were allegations of negligence entrustment and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the minor Defendants at issue and their parents. The negligent entrustment claim was that the parents had negligently entrusted a cell phone owned by the parents to their children.

The court granted in part and denied in part the request for a dismissal of the negligent entrustment claims asserted against the parents given that the Plaintiffs did not allege facts to support their conclusion that the parent Defendants knew or should have known that their children would use their cell phones in ways that would hurt people.

The court also noted that, based upon the facts alleged by the Plaintiff, which included references to school policy and state law, the Plaintiffs’ allegations actually support the proposition that the parent Defendants yielded control of the cell phones, or the use of the cell phones to the teachers and administrators when their children were at school. 

In this regard, the court pointed to the school district’s rules requiring students to refrain from utilizing their cell phone on the school ground during school hours. 

The court emphasized that the alleged negligent conduct of the students took place during the course of the school day and that there were no allegations that any of the minor Defendants in this action shared the video of the minor Plaintiff outside of the school day. 

The court in this matter did allow the Plaintiffs’ claims or intentional infliction of emotional distress to proceed against the parent Defendants.

The court otherwise dismissed a number of claims asserted against the school district and school officials but allow the Plaintiffs to file another Amended Complaint relative to the possible civil rights allegations under 42 U.S.C. §1983.

The court allowed the claims of punitive damages to remain in the case relative to the claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.  The Court's companion Order can be viewed HERE.

Source of image:  Photo by Tracy Le Blanc on www.unsplash.com.

In Case of First Impression PA Superior Court Rules That A Parent Cannot Waive Child's Right To Jury Trial

In the case of Santiago v. Philly Trampoline Park, LLC, No. 2615 EDA 2021 (Pa. Super. March 21, 2023 Bowes, J., King, J., and Pellegrini, J.) (Op. by Bowes, J.), the Superior Court addressed an issue of first impression in Pennsylvania in these consolidated appeals, that being whether a parent’s role as natural guardian entitles the parent to bind a minor child to an arbitration agreement and waive that child’s right to seek redress for injuries in a court of law.  

In the consolidated appeal, the Superior Court also addressed whether one spouse's signature on a waiver form could bind the other spouse to be limited to only pursuing a recovery at arbitration.

The appellate court affirmed the lower court rulings that answered this question in the negative and concluded that the claims presented were indeed permitted to head to a jury trial as opposed to arbitration.

Overall, the Pennsylvania Superior Court, after reviewing the law of agency and contract law, concluded that the trial courts had properly ruled that no agreements at issue served to bind the children or the non-signing spouses to resolve their negligence claims in arbitration rather than by way of a personal injury lawsuit in the courts.

More specifically, the Pennsylvania Superior Court agreed with the trial court findings that the trampoline facility had failed to meet its burden to show that the signatory spouses were the agents of the non-signing spouses.

The court additionally held that the parent-child relationship did not empower the signatory parents to waive their minor children’s rights to have their claims resolved in a personal injury lawsuit in a court of law as opposed to arbitration.

As such, the lower court's Orders were affirmed.

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


Source: “Pennsylvania Civil Law Case Alerts,” Fastcase.com as provided by Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Source of image:  Photo by Ben Moses on www.unsplash.com.

Claims of Parental Liability for Acts of Adult Child Against Pennsylvania State Police Officers Allowed to Proceed

In the case of Dickson v. Frein, No. 16-CV-4887 (C.P. Lacka. Co. June 1, 2018 Nealon, J.), Judge Terrence R. Nealon of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas addressed issues of parental liability for their son’s act in gunning down members of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) during a tragic shooting that occurred in Pike County, Pennsylvania on September 12, 2014.  

In this matter, there are three (3) civil actions arising out of an incident which resulted in the death of a PSP Corporal and serious physical injuries and emotional harm to two other members of the PSP.   

The adult shooter’s parents, who are named Defendants in these cases, filed Preliminary Objections in the nature of demurrers seeking to dismiss the negligence claims against them on the grounds that they did not know any recognized duty to the shooting victims to the actions of their adult son.   The shooter’s father also filed a demurrer to one Plaintiff’s claim that the father was vicarious liable for the tortious conduct of his son.  

Applying the demurrer standard, the court denied the Defendants’ Preliminary Objections in this regard.  

Judge Nealon noted that, in cases involving firearms that are owned or controlled by parents and located on their property, Pennsylvania law recognizes a parental duty to exercise reasonable care in controlling or restricting access to those fire arms by a minor child, or even an adult child who suffers from mental illness or a cognitive disability, such that the child’s use of a firearm may create an unreasonable risk of harm to others.  

Judge Nealon also noted that, even in the absence of a special relationship between the parents and the shooter, the parents have a duty to refrain from committing an affirmative act that is likely to affect the conduct of the shooter in such a manner as to pose an unreasonable risk of harm to others.  

In this matter, the Complaints filed contained allegations that the parents knew that the shooter suffered from mental illness, cognitive disabilities, delusions, and an inability to distinguish fantasy from reality since the time that the shooter was a child.   

The Plaintiffs also alleged that, rather than seek warranty mental health treatment for their son, the parents fostered the child’s fantasies by allegedly financing their adult son’s military simulation hobby, providing him with fire arms training, and furnishing him with a text on sniper techniques.   

The Complaints also contained allegations that the parents otherwise psychologically manipulated their son’s vulnerable mental health state and compromised his cognitive condition in other ways, including positions on ending the misuse of power by police, which allegedly caused the adult son to allegedly develop a strong antipathy towards the police.   

The Plaintiffs’ Complaints also alleged that the parents knew that the adult son had been threatening to kill others who had wronged him or others. 

Overall, the Plaintiffs alleged in their Complaints that, despite their knowledge of their son’s wayward thoughts, the parents failed to contact police or any mental health professionals regarding their son’s intentions and actions and, to the contrary, granted him unfettered access to the firearms that the parents owned or controlled at their residence, including the weapons their son used during his attack on the Pennsylvania State Police.  

Given that the Defendant’s parents had not established that it was free and clear from doubt that they owed no duty of care under Pennsylvania law to the Plaintiffs, the court denied the Preliminary Objections filed by the parent Defendants.  

Judge Nealon did otherwise dismiss the separate vicarious liability claim against the father for the criminal conduct of his son as insufficient as a matter of law due to the absence of the requisite agency relationship between the father and the shooter.  

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

Ability of Parent To Recover Damages In Own Right Where Child Injured In MVA

A common question in automobile accident personal injury matters is to what extent a parent can recover damages in a case where claims are pursued on behalf of a minor Plaintiff. 

This issue was addressed in a recent decision by Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas Judge Richard A. Gray in the case of Ritter v. Makos, No. 14-02653 (C.P. Lycoming Co. Nov. 5, 2015 Gray, J.).

In Ritter, the Plaintiff-mother was driving with the Plaintiff-minor, i.e., her daughter, when they were involved in a motor vehicle collision.  A Complaint was filed for personal injuries to the minor Plaintiff.  The Plaintiff-mother did not sustain any permanent personal injuries.

A separate Complaint was filed on behalf of the Plaintiff-mother for her alleged damages arising out of the same accident.  Included in the Plaintiff-mother's Complaint was a claim for a recovery by the Plaintiff-mother of health care costs expended, or to be expended, out-of-pocket by the mother for treatment for the child up to the child reached the age of 18. 

A claim for the pecuniary value of any services the child would have provided to her mother during child's minority if the child was not injured was also asserted on behalf of the Plaintiff-mother.

The defense filed Preliminary Objections asserting that the Plaintiff-mother's claims should be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 

The court denied the Preliminary Objections and noted that the defense had only cited to 75 Pa.C.S.A. Section 1722 of Pennsylvania's Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law ("MVFRL"), but no caselaw.

Judge Richard A. Gray
Lycoming County
 

Judge Gray ruled that the MVFRL did not generally preclude a claim by a parent of a minor child injured in a motor vehicle accident.

The court noted that, under Pennsylvania law, a personal injury to a minor child gives rise to two separate and distinct causes of action.  First, there is a recognized claim for pain and suffering to the child and for losses after the child reaches the age of majority.  Also recognized under Pennsylvania law is a claim by a parent(s) of the injured child for medical expenses and the loss of the minor's services during the minority period of the child's life.

The court noted that, while Section 1722 of the MVFRL precludes double recoveries in auto accident personal injury cases, the claims of the parent and child asserted were separate and distinctly recognized recoverable claims such that no double recovery was involved.

As such, the Preliminary Objections were denied in this regard.

The Preliminary Objections were sustained to the extent the parent was attempting to recover damages for health care expenses and related costs recoverable by the guardian of the minor on the separate claims pursued on behalf of the minor Plaintiff.

Anyone wishing to review this case may click this LINK.

Source:  "Digest of Recent Opinions."  Pennsylvania Law Weekly (Jan. 12, 2016).